


Secrets, Lies and Superheroes

by laxit21



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), DCU (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Divergence - Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Crossover, Everyone Has Issues, HYDRA is it's own warning, How many characters can I fit into one story?, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Season/Series 02 AU, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychological Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-30
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-01-26 19:35:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 82
Words: 127,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12564644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laxit21/pseuds/laxit21
Summary: Being a vigilante (or on the team of one) is complicated enough. When Oliver, Felicity and Diggle rescue Lyla from a Russian gulag, Felicity’s life gets even more complicated. Months later, after the fall of SHIELD, one of those complications comes knocking on her door.You can find me on Tumblr at: laxit21.tumblr.com





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is AU going pretty far back (starts in S2). Some events will change, some will not. I also skip around events that I'm not changing (i.e. the events of 'State vs. Queen' don't change since they don't really impact this story any differently than they did in canon). You'll see what I mean.....
> 
>  
> 
> "Words"  
>  _Thoughts_  
>  ** _Russian_  
> **
> 
>  
> 
>   
>  _Arabic_  
>    
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place during 2x05 of Arrow

“I’m happy to hear you’re not dead anymore. I mean, I…. didn’t know you before you died the first time…I’m just happy you’re alive.” Felicity babbled when she met Sara Lance.

“You’re cute.”

“We just had an uninvited guest at the Queen Mansion.” Oliver spoke up. “Trained. Highly skilled. And he was dressed like Merlyn.”

“Well, last I checked Malcolm Merlyn was dead. Courtesy of an arrow through his heart.” Diggle responded.

“It wasn’t him. It was a follower…. an underling bent on revenge. Whoever it was, he knows who I am.” Oliver handed Felicity a soil sample he'd found at the mansion.

“Gee, I didn’t get you a bag of dirt.”

“I found it in the house. Copycat Merlyn tracked it in. I want you to analyze it. Hopefully it’ll lead me right to him.”

“Then what?”

“If this pretender wants to follow Malcolm Merlyn so badly, he can follow him right into a grave.” Oliver replied. “Sara, we’ll find this guy.“

No one noticed how the look on Sara’s face changed once Oliver began talking. She mentally braced herself for what was about to happen. She turned to face the trio. “I don’t want you to.”

“What do you mean?” Oliver asked in confusion.

“He wasn’t after you, Ollie. He’s after me.”

“Who is he?”

“He’s called Al-Owal, the First. And he’s a member of the League of Assassins.” Sara admitted. Oliver walked a few feet away from Sara and just tried to process what she just said. Another teammate was having a slight panic attack. _Let’s hope I can lie better than Oliver._

“Wait, wait. The League of Assassins. I thought they were a myth.” Digg asked.

“What’s the League of Assassins? And please don’t say a league made up of assassins.” Felicity said. _Did that sound convincing? I hope so._

“It was an urban legend, I heard about them in Afghanistan from a tribal leader. He claimed there was an ancient sect of assassins, deadly warriors that killed and vanished like ghosts.” Digg answered. “Thought he was smoking what he was selling.”

“I tried to tell you Ollie but you wouldn’t listen.”

“That’s where you’ve been the past four years. That’s where you learned to fight. You’re one of them.” Oliver said angrily.

Sara nodded. “After the freighter, a member of the League rescued me, took me in, and brought me to Nanda Parbat. They remade me, into what I am. And I swore them my allegiance.”

_And luckily, I never ran into you when I was taken there, otherwise meeting you would’ve been really awkward._

“Why are they kicking down doors trying to find you now?” Digg asked.

“Because I left, and there’s only one way you leave the League.”

“Is that why you didn’t want to see your family?” Oliver asked, still angry.

Sara responded by telling the story of an assignment she was on last year. She concluded by telling Oliver her family wouldn’t want to see a murderer like her.

 

Sara watched warily as Felicity placed the dirt sample from Oliver’s house into the mass spectrometer. The bubbly blonde seemed a little too calm after hearing about the League of Assassins. Sara just wanted to make sure she was okay.

“Sorry if I upset you earlier.” Sara said as a neutral way to open the conversation.

“We all join clubs we wish we hadn’t. Took me a year to get out of that gym membership.” Felicity responded, trying to sound supportive. She began fiddling with the machine as she spoke. _Plus, I can’t really throw stones at the whole ‘secret life’ house._

Sara gave a small chuckle before replying. “Thank you.”

Felicity looked up at the other blonde. “For what?”

“Not making me feel like what I am.” She then turned so she was addressing both Felicity and Digg. “Oliver’s lucky to have you both as friends. He hasn’t always had the best luck in that area.”

“How’d it go with your mother?” Digg asked as Oliver walked into the lair.

“Not well. Have you found somebody for me to hit yet?”

Felicity directed Oliver towards an abandoned warehouse where he might be able to find their League of Assassins assassin.

 

A few hours later, Sara was leaving the city. The blonde realized that the only way she could keep her family safe from the League was to leave. And to hope they wouldn’t stick around.

Felicity was conflicted. On one hand, she didn’t like Sara being forced to leave the home and family she’d just returned to. On the other, with Sara gone, the League would hopefully leave and her own not insignificant secrets would stay safe. The hacker was lucky that none of the assassin sent to Starling knew her personally.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place during 2x06

**Russia**

In a top-secret base north of Moscow, a set of ice blue eyes snapped open.

**_“We have a mission for you.”_** A man with a slight accent told the newly awakened man lying before him. He pulled a picture out of an envelope. _**“This woman…she has value.”**_

_**“Do you want her eliminated?”**_ the man asked, voice hoarse from disuse.

_**“No, Ms. Michaels’ friends will no doubt come for her soon. It’s her friends Hydra is interested in. Find who they are, prevent them from helping her escape.”** _ The man in charge stated. Lyla Michaels was an ARGUS agent. It was rare that Hydra, or any agency for that matter, to acquire an ARGUS agent as a prisoner. Hydra knew ARGUS would not free her, nor would they allow her to rot. The high-ranking members wanted to know who would break her out and if those people were a threat to be eliminated before Project Insight was launched.

The man walked away, leaving the Winter Soldier, formerly known as Bucky Barnes, staring after him. _There was no mention of Her and they did not put me in the machine. So, either they do not know of Her or they’ve eliminated Her already._

* * *

 

**Starling City**

Oliver and Felicity were watching the coverage of protests in Central City. The Star Labs particle accelerator was due to be turned on at the end of the month and many were worried that the machine could cause some sort of catastrophe. Oliver’s attention was pulled away when eh heard the door to the lair open.

He turned and saw Digg walking into the room, clearly on a mission. “Where’d you go? Is everything ok?”

“Yeah.” Digg replied pulling up his gun case. “Just, need a few personal days.”

“What’s going on?”

“I have to help a friend.”

Oliver, who was used to being the vague one, kept asking questions. “Who?”

“Lyla Michaels.” John answered, finally looking at his teammates.

“His spy girlfriend that works for ARGUS” Felicity told Oliver.

“She went to Russia looking for Deadshot, for me. Now she’s missing.”

Oliver nodded twice. “Felicity, I think its time we visited our Queen Consolidated subsidiary in Moscow.”

“Yeah.” Felicity said, wishing she had a valid reason to decline. She wanted to help Digg, but she’d been warned years ago to stay out of Russia. _Is it too late to claim to have swine flu? Is that still a thing?_

“Oliver, what are you doing?” Digg asked.

“Just…. need to help a friend.”

“I can’t ask you to do that.”

“You didn’t.” Oliver replied smiling.

 

Isabel came with the trio, because of course Isabel would show up and spew her bitchiness all over this already delicate situation. She spent half the flight trying to goad Oliver and the other glaring at Felicity.

The blonde sat on the plane, fidgeting with a necklace she was wearing. _He won’t be there. He can’t be there; they probably killed him. I can’t believe I’m almost certainly walking into a trap. Please let this be a short trip.  I hate being told ‘I told you so’._

* * *

**Russia**

After going through customs, Oliver and John left to ‘get a drink’, leaving Felicity alone with Isabel. The blonde mentally braced herself for the car ride from Hell and prayed to whoever was listening that a meteor would show up and crash directly into Isabel killing her. Or someone would drop a house on her, she wasn’t picky. As she and Isabitch left the airport, Felicity felt the strange sensation like she was being watched. She looked around for a moment before shrugging the feeling off as nerves.

Unbeknownst to the four arrivals from America, they were being watched. The Winter Solider and a team of Hydra agents as ‘support’ were scattered throughout the airport watching for any acquaintances their investigation into Lyla Michaels revealed. Like her ex-husband John Diggle who’d just landed in Moscow. The Winter Soldier silently followed the man as he, and another man with him, began to leave the airport and the women they arrived with behind. Trying to look inconspicuous, he looked around like he was lost and his eyes briefly caught a flash of blonde hair. He paused for a few moments and watched as the blonde woman, a woman who came with John Diggle, turned slightly to look at the brunette woman next to her. For a split second, the Asset could see her face, and it was familiar. It was Her.

Knowing his ‘team’ was watching him, he regained his focus and continued to follow Mr. Diggle. At the very least, John could lead the Winter Solider back to the woman.

 

Digg and Oliver were discussing how to get Lyla out of the gulag with Anatoly when a rather frazzled looking man came rushing into the Russian’s office.

“Can’t you see I’m conducting business, Ivan?” Anatoly yelled.

“I know, Pakhan, but we have a situation.”

“What is it?” he asked in a short voice.

“The _Soldat_ is demanding to speak with you. And he hasn’t come alone.” The man replied almost frightened. Oliver and John shared a look before standing to leave.

“I apologize, my friend. But business hours never seem to end.” Anatoly said. He pointed to a door on the far wall. “I’d suggest taking that way out. I will get what you need to you when my next meeting is done.”

Oliver could tell that his old friend was afraid of whoever this _Soldat_ was. He only hoped the man would still be alive in the morning. Ivan more or less pushed the two men through the door and locked it behind them.

A millisecond after the door closed, the door to Anatoly’s office slammed open. ** _“What can I do for the Fist of Hydra?”_**

_**“Information.”** _

_**“Regarding?”**_ Anatoly asked.

_**“The two men who just left.”** _

_**“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”** _

_**“Do not attempt to deceive me. You will tell me what you know.”** _

 

Everything was going according to plan, even if that plan was horrible. Digg had just been arrested with a startlingly large amount of drugs and was on his way to the gulag where Lyla was. Oliver and Felicity were biding their time until the next phase of Oliver’s plan went into play. That evening, Felicity was walking to Oliver’s hotel room, problems and ‘what ifs’ weighing heavily on her mind.

_How exactly am I supposed to explain this? I hope ‘my past that you didn’t ask about, because reasons, has ties to Russia and I CANNOT be here’ doesn’t sound too mean or serious, even though it is. Family emergency? No, that’s just asking for trouble. I really hope John gets Lyla out and we can avoid this._

Felicity was about to knock on the door when it opened. Isabel gave Felicity a smug smirk before saying to Oliver “I think she can take the night off, don’t you?” The bitchy brunette then sauntered away.

“Uh….”

“Felicity-“

“What happens in Russia stays in Russia.” Felicity said walking away. “Even when it makes no sense whatsoever.”

Confused and hurt for reasons Felicity didn’t fully understand, or want to acknowledge, Felicity returned to her hotel room. Now wasn’t the time or place to spill her big, possibly deadly secret. Not when Digg and Lyla’s safety were on the line. The blonde was so wrapped up in her own thoughts she didn’t feel the presence of another person in the room. Nor did she notice some things had been moved around.

“You live.” A male voice said from a chair in the corner.

Felicity jumped and turned towards the voice, petrified. She relaxed, slightly, when she saw who was there. “James…”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How Felicity met the Winter Soldier.  
> Slight warning for Hydra being assholes because Hydra

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few things.   
> 1) I don't know when in Felicity's senior year the whole 'Cooper getting arrested' thing happened, so I'm assuming the fall because reasons.  
> 2) Let's pretend that Felicity moved off campus after Cooper's 'death'  
> 3) I'm hinting at what happened with Hydra and Bucky's 'mission' in this chapter but I will explain more explicitly later

**February 2009-Cambridge, MA**

Felicity sighed as she walked into her apartment. The now-blonde believed a new semester meant a new start, but she was wrong. She was still receiving pitying looks and condolences from professors and other students in the computer science department. Yes, Cooper’s death was tragic and recent, but the blonde decided over Christmas break to try and put all of that behind her.

Felicity turned on the lights in her kitchen and jumped when she noticed she wasn’t the only person there. A ragged looking man was standing in front of her refrigerator looking completely lost. She noticed he had a metal arm and looked at her like she was an enemy. The man was dressed in full tactical gear and Felicity counted at least three weapons on him. Unsure of what to do and frightened, Felicity did what she did best: babble.

“If you’re here to steal something I don’t have anything that valuable.” The man didn’t say anything and continued staring at her. “And if you’re here to kill me that’s a bad idea. I’d make a very bad murder victim. Like, I bet I wouldn’t win in a fight against you but I’d scream and stuff and the neighbors would notice and call the cops. So, you know, please don’t kill me.”

“Not here to kill you,” the man said.

“Oh…ok, great. Um…. Why are you here then?” she asked.

“Conditioning did not hold. Failed the mission objective. Failure is not tolerated. They will be looking.” the man said, sounding extra-vague.

“Who’s ‘they’? Is there somewhere I can take you?”

“The people who gave mission objectives. Don’t want to go back there. Can’t go back.” The mystery man had an air of danger about him, so it was surprising to see someone so dangerous look so scared He started to get noticeably agitated and Felicity realized she had no idea what he was capable of.

“It’s okay.” She said, trying to appear non-threatening, or more non-threatening. “You don’t have to go back there, okay? What’s your name?”

“The Asset.” The man said, finally looking directly at her.

“That’s not really a name.”

“It’s the only one I have.” He sounded…. lost almost. Like a child who couldn’t find his mother.

“Well, I’m not gonna call you that.” Felicity said. “How about…. James?”

“James?”

“As a name. You don’t seem eager to leave my tiny apartment and I have no way of making you leave, so I’m gonna go out on a limb and assume you’re going to stay. You’re going to need a name. My go-to name is usually Kevin but you don’t look like a Kevin. So James.”

“That will suffice.”

“Great.” Felicity said. “You’re not like, an escaped convict or running from the cops or anything, right?”

“No.”

“Okay. Well, I’m Felicity. You can take the couch I guess. I’ll go get some blankets.”

“That is not necessary.” Felicity nodded, still confused but decided not to push. Hopefully, this was just the product of her mental exhaustion. 

 

Felicity woke up the next morning and headed into her kitchen to make herself some nice, hot coffee. She walked past her couch and saw nothing was out of place. She wrote off her interaction with the mystery man last night as a dream. That belief held until she turned the corner into her kitchen and said man was glaring at her coffee pot.

_So not a dream or hallucination. Great._

“Glaring at the machine won’t make the coffee brew.” Felicity said, hoping she didn’t startle him.

“I don’t even know what this does.” James admitted.

“You don’t know what a coffee pot does?”

“Knowing such information has never been mission critical.”

“Oh, I guess I’ll make the coffee then.” Felicity walked past him and turned the machine on, waiting in tense silence as it brewed. “Why here? I mean, I don’t want to make you angry but there’s dozens of other apartments you could have chosen. Why mine?”

“It was empty. Neither the ground nor the top floor. More potential avenues of exit should shelter prove unsatisfactory. In a city with a relatively large non-resident population. Ideal for surveillance and extraction.”

All of the things he said sounded like something from Mission Impossible. “Are you a spy or something?”

James was saved from answering when the machine beeped. Felicity grabbed two mugs from a cupboard and filled both, handing one to him. Tentatively, he brought it up to his mouth. He waited for the woman to begin drinking. It was the only way to know the beverage wasn’t tampered with. Once satisfied that this ‘Felicity’ wasn’t trying to kill him, he took a sip.

“This tastes…. familiar.”

“Well yeah, its coffee. Coffee’s pretty universal.” Felicity said before she saw the look on his face. “Or do you have some kind of memory thing? Like you can’t remember stuff. Is that why you don’t know your name?”

“They…. they don’t let me remember. The people who are looking for me. They keep making me forget, I think. I…I think something went wrong. During the mission.”

* * *

 

**Warehouse-Boston**

“What do you mean, you lost him?” Alexander Pierce yelled over the phone. Hydra agent Matthews was searching for a way to respond. “How exactly can you lose the Asset?”

“I’m unsure, sir. Castle, Caldera, Williams and the Asset went out to perform reconnaissance and set up a base in the building opposite the convention center. I went looking when they didn’t report back. I found their bodies but the Asset was gone.”

“How long?”

“Sir?”

“How much time passed between their departure and yours?”

“Six hours.”

“Did the Soldier seem…out of character? Overly agitated or displaying a more…outgoing demeanor?”

“I couldn’t say Sir. This is my time working with him.”

“Fine.” Pierce sighed. “They were probably discovered and instructed the Asset to go underground. For all we know, he’s already shadowing his target. Look for him, discretely. If Saner doesn’t die at that meeting or if the Asset doesn’t return after the fact, call me.”

* * *

 

**April 2009**

The last two months had been…bizarre for Felicity. Ever since she found James standing in her kitchen, her overall stress level skyrocketed. She didn’t know who or what he was hiding from, but it terrified him. And anything that scared him petrified her. The blonde had deduced within the first week that he was some kind of secret agent or assassin or something. Between his tendency to talk like he was in a spy movie and the time he almost shot a hole in her floor when she yelped upon seeing a spider, it was not a difficult conclusion to make. She didn’t ask him questions though. Whether it was PTSD, denial or genuine memory loss that plagued him, the blonde found she almost didn’t want to know the truth.

 

The pair had developed a strange camaraderie. She didn’t push him to figure out what he’d forgotten or ask too many questions. In return, he made her feel less isolated and alone without Cooper. They weren’t a secret cyber criminal and her friend with amnesia and a long complicated history. They were just James and Felicity. In addition, as time passed, James started to remember little things and his personality began to slowly appear.

Within a few days of meeting her, James began feeling a weird emotion towards the blonde. Instinct told him it wasn’t a dangerous feeling, but it was definitely serious. He needed further examination before he could discuss it with her.

 

Their relative peace was broken when someone knocked on Felicity’s door on a random Saturday afternoon. James tensed and hid from view while Felicity went to answer the door. She found an average looking brunette man standing on the other side.

“Can I help you?”

“Maybe. My name is Dr. Matthews, I work at a government laboratory in Boston.” The man held up some sort of badge but Felicity didn’t see a name or picture or the name of the lab on it. “I’m looking for a colleague who’s gone missing.”

“That sounds like a job for the police.” Felicity replied. James stood completely still and began to panic. This man’s voice sounded familiar, and not in a good way.

“They have been…. slow to act on finding him.”

“That doesn’t explain why you’re here.” Felicity said neutrally.

The man looked her up and down, silently taking measure of her. He pulled a photo from his jacket and showed it to her. “Have you seen this man?”

The photo was clearly James, albeit a less healthy looking and less scruffy version of him. “I don’t think so.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I’ve never seen anyone who looks anything like that.”

“Really? Because your downstairs neighbor claims she saw him in the laundry room last week.”

_Crap._ Luckily, Felicity only had one neighbor below her and the old woman gave her a viable explanation. “Mrs. Anderson, right? Yeah, she also claims Jimmy Hoffa repaired her cable box last month. This building doesn’t even have a laundry room. She had a little too much fun at Woodstock if you get my drift.”

Felicity moved to close the door, but Dr. Matthews’s foot was in the way. “I don’t think you’re being honest with me.”

“Think what you want. I’ve got things to do.” She pushed against the door, trying to force the man out. Unfortunately, the computer genius wasn’t very strong and he was able to force his way inside.

Matthews didn’t have time to look around before James’ hands were around his neck. A short struggle and broken neck later, Matthews’ body was lying on the floor.

“I…. I will get rid of the body. “ Felicity didn’t get a chance to speak before he practically sprinted from the apartment. He returned an hour later looking resigned.

“I…need to leave. They found me. “ James said pacing. “I have to go back.”

“I thought you didn’t want to go back.”

“I don’t. But…if they come for me, and I’m here or they know I’ve been here, they’ll come after you. They…. they’ll hurt you.”

“And if you go, they’ll hurt you.”

James didn’t respond for a few moments. He looked ready to cry. “I’m sorry Felicity. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

“No, its not. They came looking for me and he could have killed you. That’s not okay. I…I can’t let them hurt you.” he took a step towards Felicity and put his arms around her. “I hope I get to remember you.”

Felicity nodded with tears in her eyes. The second the front door closed behind him, she collapsed. She knew James was likely going to his death or worse. She cried for him, and for herself. She never got the chance to tell James how she felt about him.

* * *

  **Trenton, NJ**

The Winter Soldier walked into the nondescript building he’d last seen two months earlier.. As soon as the agent guarding the desk saw him, he was surrounded by a flock of Hydra agents all speaking at once. They ushered him downstairs into a lab. Finally, a throat cleared and the room went silent.

“Mission report.” Russo, the highest-ranking Hydra agent present, demanded.

Luckily, he remembered enough about his mission to make his report convincing. Luckier still, according to the news, someone else had eliminated his target while he was still in Massachusetts. “Target eliminated.” He replied.

“Agents Caldera, Castle, Williams and Matthews?”

“Three were taken out by opposing forces during reconnaissance. Was instructed to go underground until mission could be fulfilled. The fourth went missing the day the mission was completed.”

“How was the target eliminated?”

“Target was under heavy protection. Attempts to eliminate at the conference proved to be unrealistic and a waste or resources. After the final day of the conference, I followed the target to his hotel. Security was far more lax and he dismissed his private security. Shortly after midnight, I slit his throat in his sleep.”

“Why the delay in reporting in?”

“Extraction became problematic with the other agents dead or missing. Taking a longer route back to base became necessary.”

Russo stared at the Asset for a moment, trying to detect if he was being deceived. Hydra had never had him out of cryo for so long between wipes. If his conditioning was still holding, they might have finally succeeded in breaking the Asset entirely as Pierce hoped. Others in the organization were skeptical. All of his reactions seemed normal, and if the conditioning had broke, he doubted the Winter Soldier would willingly return.

“Keep him here.” Russo said to the dozen or so agents in the room. He left to call Pierce. Returning a few minutes later, Russo and two other agents began his ‘correction’, which was code for punishing the Asset for behaving contrary to what Hydra wanted. Usually, this was a combination of physical beatings, various tortures and wiping his memory. For some reason, this time the agents didn't wipe his memory. After an unknown amount of time ‘correcting’ the Winter Soldier’s behavior, Russo addressed one of the scientists. “Put him in cryo and send him back to Karpov.” The scientist complied and the Winter Soldier, strangely, didn’t not put up a fight.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second part of Felicity's adventure in Russia.

Felicity jumped and turned towards the voice, petrified. She relaxed, slightly, when she saw who was there. “James…” She ran over to embraced him but the man didn’t move. “You’re alive.”

“Affirmative.”

“They didn’t kill you. Wait, you remember me.”

“Affirmative, and odd.”

A million questions occurred to the blonde and she asked them all. “Why are you here? How are you here? What happened?”

“Returned to base after leaving Cambridge. I gave my mission report. Returning to base so long after going dark was seen as good. I was punished for being gone for so long but not as severely as I feared. Was put in cryostasis for four years. I was removed from cyrostasis yesterday.”

“But you still have your memories? Hydra let you keep them?”

James stilled when she said the organizations name. “How do you know about Hydra?” He never mentioned them by name four years ago and his paranoia spiked when she knew about them.  _Please don't let her be one of them._

The blonde must have realized how it looked, she could practically see the cogs in his mind turning, and rushed to explain. “The day after you left, someone came to my apartment looking for you. It wasn’t like Matthews; they didn’t try to lie or try to trick me about why they were there. One of them killed Dr. Saner as a ‘professional courtesy’ and their leader sent them with an offer. When they were explaining all of this to me, they told me about who you really were and what you were hiding from.”

“Did…. did they hurt you?”

It took Felicity great self-control not to scoff. She ended up getting a very close friend out of her first encounter with the League. “No, I was a little startled and very confused though. Back on topic, they let you keep your memories?”

“Yes, although not intentionally. They did not use the machine on me.”

“The machine?”

His demeanor changed and he became more robotic. “Machine is used in case of failure to comply with orders or if Asset is deemed as acting ‘too human’. Exact process unknown. After implementation, Asset does not remember anything before use.”

“So they use a machine on you that wipes your memories but you don’t know how it works because it wipes those memories too.” James nodded. “Wait, you said they woke you up. What did they wake you for?”

“I was given a new mission. Which you are somehow involved with.”

“What? Wait, are you…are you here to kill me? Or is it Oliver they sent you for?” Felicity began to panic. “I knew I never should have come to Russia. Starling is apparently safer, which is ridiculous. Please tell me you’re not here to kill one of my friends.”

“No, but it is within the mission parameters.”

“What is your mission exactly?” Felicity asked, wanting a straight answer.

“Observe attempted extraction of ARGUS agent Lyla Michaels. Determine if extraction team are a threat to Hydra. Prevent Agent Michaels from leaving Russia.” He said robotically before pausing. His voice was softer when he spoke again. “Operatives were planted throughout the airport. I followed Mr. Diggle as he left the building with another man. I saw you when I was trying to appear not to be following them. Then, I followed them to meet with a Bratva member before following them here.”

“So, your mission is to find out how we’re getting Lyla out of the gulag, report everything you learn back to Hydra and keep Lyla here?”

“Yes. “

“And you’re here to find out how we mean to extract Lyla. Makes sense, weakest link and all that.”

“No, I wanted to see you. When I woke up, as you put it, I didn’t know what happened to you after I left. The part of me who wanted to stay with you hoped you were okay. The part of me that is the Asset believed you to be dead. I’m glad the Asset lost this one.”

“I never should have let you leave.” Felicity said mostly to herself.

“You couldn’t have stopped me.” James said.

Felicity was about to respond when there was a knock at the door. “Felicity?” Oliver’s voice called out. “It’s time.”

James looked at Felicity before saying. “You have to get her out of Russia by this time tomorrow.” If her team was able to act quickly, his failure could be more easily explained. He gave her one last look before jumping out of the window.

"Find me when this is all over." She said right before he jumped.

Felicity gathered her thoughts before opening the door. “Hey, everything ok? I mean, the whole Isabel sit-“

“Everything’s fine. This country just…I want to get out of this place as soon as possible.” 

* * *

 

Although he didn’t remember it, the Winter Soldier had seen many interesting things staring through the scope of a sniper rifle. Affairs, crimes against humanity, the brains of a US president, a third grade dance recital, you name it. He’d never watched someone break out of prison though, surprisingly.

He found it to be…rather boring. He watched the military vehicle, driven by the ‘Oliver’ person Felicity mentioned, arrive outside the gulag and sit there for several minutes. Shortly after, some sort of explosion happened in the prison and most of his support focused on the gulag, not the tourists. It gave him enough of an opening to fire off a single shot, which landed on the roof of the car. Eventually, the Asset watched someone exit the military vehicle, run towards the prison and fight off several guards. Three other people, one identified as John Diggle, one as Lyla Michaels, and an unknown man with one eye got into the vehicle and drove away.

**_“Solider, shoot out the tires.”_** One member of the Asset’s team said as the Americans drove away.

**_“Not necessary.”_** the Asset said.

**_“Why not?”_ **

**_“Tracking device placed on vehicle prior break out. Extraction team is likely to separate before reuniting at their base to allay suspicion. Following the signal allows recapture of Target and apprehension of extraction team.”_ **

**_“Let me see your weapon.”_**  The man demanded and the Winter Solider complied. **_“One of the trackers has been fired.”_**

**_“Recapturing the target is useless if we don’t also capture her compatriots.”_ **

He knew the tracker would more than likely fall off of the car during the ride back to Moscow. Even if it didn’t, this discussion was wasting enough time for any smart extraction team to locate, acquire and drive off in a second vehicle.

 

Due to a combination of the Asset purposefully slowing the team down, Petrov’s need to question every decision, the warning James gave Felicity, and sheer dumb luck, the Hydra members arrived at the Moscow airport right as the Queen Consolidated jet was taking off.

**_“This is not good.”_** Petrov said as they watched their target fly away.

 

* * *

 

**_“Mission report.”_ **

**_“Mission to prevent extraction of target unsuccessful. Target escaped gulag and was able to leave Russia unhindered.”_** The Winter Solider replied robotically.

**_“How?”_ **

**_“Her extraction team was more prepared than intel implied. While our team was doing reconnaissance on the gulag, her team was already in place and beginning extraction.”_** Petrov replied when the Asset didn’t immediately speak.

**_“Extraction team had connections in the Motherland we were unprepared for. “_** the Asset said. **_“Including military and underground contacts.”_**

**_“Why did you not shoot the team after the prison break?”_ **

**_“Tracker was planted on escape vehicle shortly before extraction was completed. We followed the signal back to the hotel near the airport. Disagreement over how to proceed wasted time and allowed Target time to leave Russia.”_ **

The Hydra handler looked away from the Winter Solider and towards the other members of his team. They all seemed to be glaring at Petrov.

**_“I only questioned his logic because he was acting out of character!”_ **

**_“How?”_** the handler asked as James silently panicked. He’d tried to act like the mindless, personality-less robot Hydra expected, and believed, up until now, that he’d pulled it off.

**_“At the airport, the Asset got distracted by some blonde woman and nearly caught the attention of the people we were following. He disappeared shortly after tracking John Diggle to a known Bratva establishment and did not return for several hours.”_ **

**_“Where were you?”_ **

**_“Looking for intel. Three people came to Moscow with Diggle, only one went with him to meet with Bratva. After establishing what the Bratva were doing for Diggle, I broke into the suite of one of the women he arrived with. Attempts to locate files or information on her computer proved unsuccessful.”_ **

The handler looked James over critically. The man had dealt with the Winter Soldier many times before and he could tell something was off about this behavior. After what felt like hours, he reached a conclusion and addressed someone standing in the back of the room.

**_“Wipe him.”_ **

_I’m sorry Felicity. I tried._ James thought as they forced him into the machine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next few chapters are going to be mostly Arrow-centric and cover the time between November of 2013 and a few days before the events of Winter Soldier.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things in Starling get complicated when Sara Lance returns. Felicity and Moira face off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No Bucky for a little while, I've skipped ahead in time to February/March of 2014 (basically a few weeks before CATWS). I did this for two reasons:  
> 1) I'm not changing any events between 2x07 and Sara's return, so i don't see the point in rewriting it  
> 2) I'm making certain characters a little more central to the plot and this chapter begins to explain why.

**February/March 2014**

The last three months had been difficult for Felicity. She spent four and half years believing James, a man she loved, was dead. Then she found out he was alive, only to lose him to Hydra once again. The blonde hacker hoped one day she and James could actually be her and James. Or, in the very least, part on less life-threatening terms.

After dealing with the shock and sadness of what happened to James, Felicity met Barry Allen. The adorkable CSI from Central City seemed like the perfect person for Felicity. He was nice, smart and unlike Oliver and James, was both able and willing to be with her. Of course, a few days later, Barry was struck by lightning and in a coma.

She still couldn’t believe Oliver, Mister I-Need-To-Keep-QC-So-Congrats-You’re-My-Assistant-Now, was stupid enough, or just horny enough, to sleep with the woman actively trying to steal his company. Personal feelings aside, that was just plain dumb.

Roy had joined Team Arrow and was dealing with his monumental new anger issues, causing everyone on the team to be a little more anxious. Felicity wasn’t scared of Roy or believed he was going to go evil or anything. She was just concerned. He was a good kid who’d been turned into a weapon he didn't want to be. She wasn’t scared of him, but scared for him. Moira Queen had somehow gotten acquitted of the mass murders she helped caused and was running for Mayor. Sara had returned, with some not so nice company. The former assassin was drawn home when news of Laurel’s overdose reached her.

“The League is never gonna let me go. At least if I’m halfway around the world then I can keep my family safe.” Sara told Oliver as she moved to pack her few belongings and leave.

“Wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Digg said walking into the lair. “Just got a copy of Laurel’s blood work. She tested negative for drugs.”

“Then why did she collapse?”

“Because they found traces of snake venom in her blood. Tibetan pit viper”

“Wait, so Laurel didn’t OD?”

“She was poisoned.”

“She was poisoned by Nyssa who did it to draw you back here.” Oliver butt in. ”And it worked.”

“My family’s in danger.” Sara said.

_Yeah, they are._ Felicity thought.

* * *

 

Felicity wasn’t quite sure how to react to what she discovered. Moira Queen being devious and a liar was not surprising. It was more what the secret Felicity uncovered implied that she couldn’t wrap her head around.

_I can’t believe she slept with Malcolm Merlyn. Actually, I can. Still. Ugh._

Before she could really consider the implications, Felicity was at the Queen Mansion confronting Moira. The blonde told her everything she’d uncovered and how she did it.

“What are you going to do with this information?” Moira said walking past her.

“I don’t know. Confronting you in your living room was as far as my plan went.” The blonde admitted. “I thought you deserved…. the chance to tell Oliver yourself. He should hear it from you.”

Moira turned around at that statement. “I’m not going to tell my son anything. And neither are you.”

_Oh really?_

“If you wont keep my secret for Oliver’s sake, you should keep it for your own.”

_Threats? Really? You’re not as scary as you think you are, Moira. I’ve literally gotten into a shouting match with the world’s most deadly assassin over dirty dishes. But, lets see how you’ll try and play this._

“I see the way you look at him.”

_So, you’re going to use my so-called feelings for Oliver to manipulate me. Even though it’s mostly platonic. Because men and women can’t be just friends or anything. It’s a crush, and this information could actually get Oliver hurt, or worse, Thea._

“If you tell him this, you will rip his world apart, and a part of him will always blame you. He’ll hate me for sure, but he will hate you too. We all have to keep secrets Miss Smoak.”

Felicity walked out and felt Moira’s eyes on her. She had to let the older woman think she won. _Yes, we all have to keep secrets. I keep quite a few. But I don’t have to keep yours._

* * *

 

Telling Oliver the truth about Thea’s father was as painful as Felicity feared it would be. Knowledge that she was doing the right thing and hopefully Oliver would as well was the only thing that kept Felicity from feeling like a monster. She wanted Oliver to tell Thea the truth, and thereby give Merlyn less leverage. Moira, for all her attempts at intimidation, was right about one thing. Felicity had torn his world apart, but maybe that was necessary.

* * *

 As Oliver was coming to terms with his mother’s demons, Sara was trying to get rid of hers. Nyssa had kidnapped her mother and Sara knew she couldn’t leave. She also knew she wouldn’t go back to the League.

“No more killing.” Sara said after being cured of the pit viper venom. “Nyssa, please.” The last hour had been an emotional rollercoaster for everyone. Nyssa went from grief-stricken to murderous to resigned. Sara had shown up ready to die and Oliver didn’t want to let Sara down, again.

“Ta-Er Al-Sahfer, in the name of Ra’s al Ghul, I release you.” Nyssa said, her heart breaking with every word. Soon, the sound of sirens filled the air and Nyssa was gone.

The daughter of Ra’s al Ghul wandered through Starling, unsure of what to do next. She knew she needed to return to Nanda Parbat and talk to her father. Inform him that she’d released Sara. She somehow found herself standing by the docks, overlooking Starling Bay.

“How did I guess you’d be here?” a voice said from behind her. Nyssa turned, drawing her sword. The other person raised their arms. “Woah. I’m not armed or anything.”

“Hello my friend.” Nyssa said smiling slightly and dropping the sword. Felicity Smoak and Nyssa al Ghul had a strange history. The blonde was someone she considered a friend, even if she hadn’t seen her in a four years or spoken to her in two.

“Hey. I…. I wanted you to know that I didn’t know.” Felicity admitted. “I didn’t know Sara Lance was the girl you kept telling me about. I didn’t realize in helping one friend I was-“

“Hurting a different friend.” Nyssa finished. “I understand, even if I don’t agree. “

Felicity nodded appreciatively. “And I’m sorry you two broke up. I know she made you happy.”

Nyssa smiled sadly. “As am I, but that is the way of life. How is your beloved?”

“Not sure. I saw him in Russia, briefly.”

“You went to Russia? We all warned you to stay away.” Nyssa and Talia, who as a general rule disagreed with everything her sister said, had both warned her, as had several assassins in the League, and even Ra’s, which was an overall weird experience for everyone involved. They believed Felicity walking directly into a sword was less dangerous than her going to Russia.

“I know. But Oliver doesn’t know about James or my past with the League, or anything, so I couldn’t refuse to go without explanation. Anyway, I saw him briefly, he’s still…. being held by Hydra. “ _And there’s nothing I can do about it, and I hate it._

“That is unfortunate.”

“Yeah, well, that fits in with the rest of my life so I can’t say this disappointment is surprising.”

"You managed to find him once. I'm certain you will again." Nyssa reassured her.

She didn't mention the order Ra's had issued years ago. If at any point James Barnes escaped Hydra, the League owed him exactly one favor. Ra's had a great deal of respect for the Winter Soldier, a rare thing, and knew exactly how dangerous the man was. It's why he placed Felicity under the protection of the League and why he'd sent Nyssa to Boston in the first place. The League's purpose was to protect humanity from great evils; protecting Barnes or his beloved when the man himself was unable to protected the world.

Both women were silent for a moment. “You realize he will find out one day. Oliver Queen. Both of your history with the League and your personal connection to Al-Jundi. Such things don’t stay hidden for long.”

“I’ll burn that bridge when I get to it.” Felicity shot back.

“I don’t believe that’s the correct expression.”

“It’s not but, once either truth comes out, I’m gonna get knocked off that pedestal he keeps putting me on. It's actually quite annoying.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! Felicity and Nyssa go way back.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Clock King strike, Sara and Felicity talk, and Hydra does scheming-Hydra things

**Starling City**

The lair had gotten a little crowded over the last few days. Since being released from the League by Nyssa, Sara had joined Team Arrow and the team dynamic hadn’t exactly settled. Sara was nice, and no one had any issues with her, but Felicity had begun feeling a little…. out of place since she joined. The blonde was trying to get rid of her excess energy by using the training dummy, somewhat unsuccessfully.

“Plant your feet.” Sara said from behind her. She walked over and moved Felicity into a better posture. “Strong foundation equals a stronger punch.” Felicity gave it a shot and the punch was definitely stronger. “Nice. If this is for self-defense, I’d recommend Wing Chun. It uses your opponent’s strength against him. So its ideal for smaller people like us.” Sara did a few example moves.

“You seem like you can take care of yourself just fine.” Felicity said. _Was that mean? That sounded kinda mean._

“You okay?” Sara asked, noticing the blonde was acting weird.

_You mean besides the fact that none of the three people I’m interested in seem to want me. One’s in a coma, one’s dating you and the third is a prisoner of Evil Incorporated._

Oliver came in and distracted both women from the almost heart-to-heart they were about to have.

 

“How bad?” Oliver asked walking into the lair right after Tockman broke in.

“Tockman used the skeleton key to penetrate our firewall and recode our security. Basically, he told our system to commit suicide and it did.” Felicity responded pulling useless parts out of her computers. “Bravo Clock King.”

Oliver, Digg and Sara then began discussing a trap they were going to set for Tockman. The hacker then convinced Sara and Oliver to go to Sara’s welcome back dinner with her family, leaving Diggle and Felicity behind.

“You know it’s not your fault Felicity.”

“Really? Which one of the rest of you put up the security safeguards? Maybe if it had been Sara, we wouldn’t be in this mess.” _That’s not fair and you know it._

“I know we haven’t talked about this, but it must be difficult for you seeing them together.”

“This isn’t about them being together.” _For the most part. I mean, being lonely and seeing happy couples always sucks, even if you like both halves of the happy couple._ “This is about me, ok? Sara can analyze blood, she can kick ass, she can do anything. And the one thing I’m supposed to be good at, I’m failing at miserably. I mean, why do you even need me now that you have her?” _Maybe if I was like her, I could find a way to help James. Or stop Hydra. Or just be less of a mess right now._

“Because, you’re irreplaceable Felicity.” Everyone needed a friend like John Diggle.

 

While Digg went to get food, Felicity figured out how to find Tockman. This led to Felicity going into the field, stopping the bank robbery and averting the huge explosion Tockman almost caused. Unfortunately, Felicity got shot pushing Sara out of the way.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go to the hospital?” Oliver asked as Sara patched up Felicity’s gunshot wound.

“Nuh uh. You guys never go to hospital. Besides, Digg gave me some of those aspirinsss…are you spinning?”

“I wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t been so brave.” Sara said. “Thank you.”

“It was nothing. I always wanted to say I’ve taken a bullet for someone and now I can. So really, I should be thanking you.”

“All done. Not bad but you’re still gonna have a scar.” Sara said taking off the surgical gloves and putting Felicity’s shirt back in place.

“My own scar. Yay.” The blonde was happy to hear that, and she was also happy to feel like she was an important part of the team again. For a few moments recently, she felt like she wasn’t contributing enough, like she wasn’t enough.

* * *

 

**Washington, DC**

“Any luck identifying the mystery blonde?” Pierce asked some of the lower-ranking members of Hydra.

Ever since Moscow, Hydra had been trying to identify, locate and possibly eliminate the blonde woman who caused such….abnormalities in the Asset’s behavior. Discovering a potential weakness in their conditioning of the Winter Soldier this close to Project Insight was a huge risk.

“None, sir.” One of the drones responded. “Several blonde were within the Asset’s line of sight in the airport and unfortunately, none of the security cameras caught their faces. We’re cross-referencing passenger manifests with scanned passports. So far we’ve been unlucky.”

“Who’s bright idea was it to kill Petrov and wipe the Asset before we could get a name or description out of them?” Pierce shouted.

“Karpov’s sir.” The same drone answered.

* * *

 

**Starling City**

Luckily for Felicity, and her healing shoulder, the whole Tockman debacle happened on a Friday, giving the hacker two days work-free to recuperate. Late Saturday morning Felicity decided to go out for an ‘I survived a stressful week’-slash-‘yay my first scar’ reward. In this case, it was the super delicious devil’s food cupcakes the bakery next to Jitters sold. The blonde bought half a dozen and was celebrating internally as she headed home. She was distracted from her personal celebration when she saw Sara sitting on the steps leading up to her house.

“Hey” Felicity said a little awkwardly.

“Hi.”

“Do you need something? I’m sorry that was rude, I just… I didn’t expect you to drop by. Is everything ok?” Felicity babbled as she unlocked her front door and gestured for Sara to come inside.

Sara was silent for a moment, like she was contemplating how to phrase what she wanted to ask. “Everything’s fine. I just- there was something I need to talk to you about.”

“Ok, shoot.”

“I wanted to ask you yesterday, but it didn’t seem fair to ask when you were on Oxycotin.“

“Okay….”

“When I was stitching up your bullet wound, I sort of noticed that tattoo you have on your shoulder-“

Felicity nodded in understanding. “And you’d like an explanation, because unlike Oliver and John, you know what that symbol means.”

“Yeah. I’ve been trying to figure out why you have the symbol of being under the protection of the League tattooed on your shoulder and nothing I can think of fits with what I know about you.”

It wasn’t that Felicity was under the League’s protection. It was more that the entire League, including Ra’s al Ghul himself, realized harming her was a really bad idea. The tattoo just cut down on explanations. _Should I tell her? She trusted me with her 'League of Assassins' secret and Nyssa trusts her. Then again, she might be a little biased. Maybe just stick to the basics and leave out Hydra?_ “You have to promise not to tell Oliver or John. My past is my own and until it shows up in Starling, I don’t see the need for them to worry.” Felicity said before sitting down and waiting for Sara to do the same. “I’ve known Nyssa and her family for a little less than five years. “

“You have?”

“Yes, I…. I met her at the beginning of 2009 while at MIT. Have you ever heard Ra’s or Nyssa mention someone called Al-Jundi?”

“Ra’s mentioned that name once, shortly after I was taken to Nanda Parbat. It didn’t seem smart to ask questions.” Sara responded. “Why?”

“It started about two months before I met Nyssa….” Felicity spent the next half hour explaining everything that happened between when she met James and when he left. Or the bare basics at least; he was in hiding, the League was aware of him, James and Felicity became close, he had to leave, she knows he's alive but can't find him. She left out everything about Hydra and James being an assassin. “The day after he had to leave, I came home to find Nyssa, and a few other League members, in my apartment looking for him. That’s when I met her and realized exactly what he was hiding from.”

“Wow.” Sara said still processing Felicity’s story. “But, you said you didn’t know what the League of Assassins was”

“I lied. I shouldn’t know what it is, so if I did, Oliver and John would have had questions that I’m not quite ready to answer. I didn’t know you were a member of the League until you admitted it and I didn’t know that you were the girl Nyssa told me about until after she poisoned Laurel. I stay as far away from the League’s business as possible.”

“And Al-Jund-” Sara saw the look on Felicity’s face and corrected herself. “James, is he why you’ve been acting so weird?”

_So it was obvious. Need to work on that._ “Kinda. Combined with the Barry Allen situation and you and Oliver getting together.” Sara looked like she was about to say something so Felicity kept talking. “Before you ask it, I’m not jealous of you because Oliver ‘picked you’ or whatever equally insulting way to say it. I’m jealous because you have someone. And both of my possible someones are kinda unavailable at the moment. I’m happy you guys are happy, I’m just-“

“Feeling lonely.” Sara finished for her.

Sara left about an hour later, slightly on edge but not as angry as she was earlier. When she saw the tattoo on Felicity, the vigilante feared the worst; that Felicity either helped Nyssa target her family or that she'd gotten into a situation she didn't fully understand. As disconcerting Felicity being under Ra's protection might be, at least the tech-savy genius knew the implications that came with it. The two blondes had also reached a better understanding of one another after their conversation. The former assassin also promised that, unless it became necessary, she wouldn’t tell the other team members what Felicity had revealed to her. Felicity, for her part, was happy to have someone who knew some of her secrets, even if she was forced into revealing it. It made her feel less lonely.

* * *

 

**Washington, DC**

A group of men stood in an old bank vault, getting the last details of their assignment in order.

“What is your mission?” Alexander Pierce asked the man in front of him.

“Eliminate Nick Fury, SHIELD director. Recover stolen data files.” The Winter Solider responded stoically.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've almost reached the events of CATWS. Get ready.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The events of CATWS occur, and Starling City responds

**April**

**Washington DC**

The Hydra members, especially Alexander Pierce, were a little on edge. Not only had the Asset failed his mission, a rarity, but Captain Rogers now knew his identity. He’d addressed the Asset by a name he wasn’t supposed to ever hear. This was the wrong time for such an avoidable mistake to happen. What if the Asset remembered being James Barnes? Or worse, what if knowing his best pal lived reignited the spark of personality Zola spent decades trying to bury? The Asset was already acting abnormal; appearing agitated, attacking Hydra scientists, not responding to orders for his mission report.

“The man on the bridge, who was he?” The Asset asked confused. _I….I recognized him, I’ve seen him before....somewhere. somehow. I knew him. I don’t KNOW people._

“You met him earlier this week on another assignment.” Pierce answered carefully.

“I knew him.” the Asset said in realization.

Pierce sighed, sat down and began speaking. “Your work has been a gift to mankind. You shaped the century. And I need you to do it one more time. Society is at a tipping point between order and chaos. Tomorrow morning, we’re gonna give it a push. But if you don’t do your part, I can’t do mine. And Hydra can’t give the world the freedom it deserves.”

Something about this speech sounded….familiar to the Asset. Like déjà vu almost. He heard the speech, something he couldn’t remember happened and he was sent out on an assignment. It was almost as if Hydra needed to talk the Asset into compliance.

_Hydra wants to give the world the freedom it deserves. Why does that sentence sound so wrong?_ “But I knew him.” the Asset insisted. _There was someone else too, I think. I can’t remember. Why can’t I remember? Somehow, someone made me forget. Why? What else did I forget?_

“Prep him.” Pierce said to one of the scientists.

“He’s been out of cryofreeze too long.”

“Then wipe him and start over.”

 

 

* * *

 

**Starling City**

Things calmed down in Starling after the Clock King for about five whole minutes. The day after the Tockman debacle, Oliver went home to discover that Slade Wilson was alive, and at his house, and definitely behind the Mirakuru plot. Slade, as part of some twisted mind game, told Laurel Oliver’s secret and the attorney had worked Sara’s out for herself. Helena had also returned to the city to, unsuccessfully, attempt to kill her father. To top it all off, Captain America had been arrested on live TV earlier that day.

Felicity sat anxiously in front of her monitors as she watched the live news from DC.

“We go live now to Pat to give us more details of the day’s events. Pat?”

“Thank you Jim. Behind me is the intersection where an unknown agency, popularly believed to be SHIELD, arrested Captain Rogers and two other individuals. We’ve all seen by now the helicopter footage of the arrest. Many witnesses are questioning the reason behind such an arrest. It appeared, according to several people I spoke to, that Rogers and his compatriots were not aggressors in the attack on the overpass in front of me and were trying to keep people out of the line of fire. Others mentioned seeing a man with a metal arm leading the attack. There was no footage of him during this incident nor was he mentioned by any law enforcement who arrived at the scene.”

“Has there been any statement from SHIELD regarding why Captain Rogers was arrested? Or what he’s been charged with?”

“We reached out to SHIELD and they declined to comment. Back to you in the studio.”

The news program went to commercial and Felicity turned it off. Just then, Sara came running down the stairs into the Arrowcave.

“You see the news?” she asked Felicity.

“Yeah.” The blonde responded.

“Is it-“

“I want to say no, but between witnesses and what I know about him, it’s likely. I just…don’t understand the logic behind it. Captain America’s profile aside, it’s way too public. Those bastards work in the shadows, they make hits look like accidents, they don’t attack people in broad daylight. “

“Ok, well what does that mean?”

“It means something bad is about to happen very soon. Like, worse than the Undertaking bad”

* * *

 

**Washington DC-Next day**

The Winter Soldier managed to get onto the helicarrier and into the control room ahead of his target. Steve Rogers came running into the room and found his way blocked by his brainwashed best friend.

"Please don't make me do this." The mission said before steeling himself and throwing his shield which the Asset blocked.

Soon, hands and bullets were flying as one man attempted to subdue and the other to kill their competition. Eventually, Steve was forced to dislocate Bucky's non-metal shoulder and put him into a sleeper hold. Captain America managed to get up to the panel to insert the last chip when he heard a bang followed by an intense pain in his abdomen. Turning, he saw that the Asset was awake, and he'd shot him. Fighting through the pain, Steve replaced the chip with about two seconds to spare.

"Charlie lock." Steve told Hill. She told him to get off of the ship, he told her to just continue with the plan. Then, the whole ship began to shake.

“You know me.” Steve told the Asset after he'd removed the debris trapping the latter.

“No I don’t!” The Asset yelled as he took a swing at the man.

“Bucky, you’ve known me your whole life.” The Winter Soldier grunted and took another swing. Steve stood once again and kept talking. “Your name is James Buchanan Barnes.”

“Shut up!”

“I’m not gonna fight you.” he said as he dropped his shield and it fell into the Potomac. “You’re my friend.”

The Asset charged at him and managed to pin him. “You’re my mission.” He began punching Steve with his metal arm. “You’re. My. Mission.” He accentuated each word with a punch.

“Then finish it. Cause I’m with you til the end of the line.” A bloodied Steve rasped out.

Before he could get another hit in, something came to the surface of his mind and his eyes widened.

_“Thank you, Buck, but I can get by on my own.” A younger, and much smaller, version of the man said._

_“The thing is you don’t have to.” He heard his own voice say. “I’m with you til the end of the line pal.”_

 

Bucky Barnes knew this man, and HE was Bucky Barnes. Bucky had just realized what this meant when the floor beneath them gave out. He watched as Steve, whoever he was to him, fell into the river. Hanging from the crashing helicarrier for a split second, Bucky saw him fall before jumping after him. He pulled the blonde man from the water and walked off.

_I…..I knew him. No, I know him. How? What…..what have I done?_

Barnes made a snap decision at that moment. He needed to figure out who he was. Hydra, Steve, revenge, everything else needed to wait until somehow Bucky got answers. He was so engrossed in his own thoughts that he didn’t notice a dark-haired woman who looked to be mid-30s watching him from the opposite bank of the river. She smirked for a moment before leaving. There was a phone call she needed to make. 

* * *

 

**Starling City**

“Big questions remain tonight regarding Hydra and its infiltration of SHIELD, as well as the leak of over three million confidential files by Natasha Romanoff earlier today.” The NBC Nightly News anchor said opening the show. Felicity was watching the program with baited breath, for some sign about James. “We go live to the White House where we are awaiting a statement by President Ellis.”

“Why are you watching that?’ Roy asked. He entered the lair while Felicity was engrossed with the program.

“Our entire country’s intelligence community just exploded. That’s kinda important.” Felicity shot back irritated.

Before Roy could respond, Sara and Oliver arrived. The archer looked at her questioningly but Sara spoke.

“Hey, did you hear anything yet? Or see anything?”

“Nothing definitive. I’ve been scanning through police reports, hospital records, CCTV, and so far nada.” She was also going through the huge number of files Romanoff had leaked looking for any record or mention of James in any form.

“What are you two talking about?” Oliver finally asked.

“I know people in DC and I haven’t been able to find out if they’re okay.” Felicity answered honestly.

“Oh.” He said, unsure of what else he could say. “You know, if you need to-“

“I can’t help them from here.” She answered, turning back to her monitors. Her phone then buzzed and she saw several texts from a blocked number.

            **> >Talia in DC**

** >>Al-Jundi alive. **

** >>Whereabouts unknown.**

            **> >Seen near Potomac River immediately after explosion**

** >>No Hydra present**

Felicity sighed in relief before saying. “Oh thank god.”

“What?”

“They’re okay.” Felicity said before closing the window with the broadcast on her monitor. She had some people to find.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snippets of Felicity and Bucky's lives in 2009 because the next two chapters are very depressing

**Cambridge-February 2009**

A few days after Felicity came home to find James standing in her kitchen, the blonde noticed something odd about his appearance, besides the metal arm.

“Do you need something else to wear?” she asked out of the blue one morning. He looked at her strangely but didn’t reply. “I mean, that can’t be comfortable.” She gestured to the tactical gear James hadn’t taken off since arriving.

She had a point, the vest was heavy and difficult to maneuver in. Before he could answer yes or no, Felicity left the room and returned a few moments later with a bundle of fabric, which she dropped onto his lap. Cooper and James were around the same height, but James was definitely more…. built than him. The clothes would fit, probably, but they might be a little snug. “Those might be a little small, but it has to be more comfy than what you’re wearing.”

Curious, James inspected the bundle. A pair of pants made out of a soft, stretchy material was on top. Underneath was a soft cotton shirt with short sleeves. On the very bottom of the pile was a thick sweater-like garment with a cloth hood and a pocket in the front. He stared at the clothing for a few moments.

“You don’t have to wear them, I just thought…” Felicity began to say.

“No, I…. thank you.” He quickly stood and moved into the bathroom. He emerged a few moments later. He’d taken off his tactical vest and pants, kept the boots, but put on the sweatpants and t-shirt she’d given him. “This apparel is certainly less constricting.”

“Good. “ Felicity answered with a small smile.

“Here.” James said holding something out to her. She held her hand out and he dropped something into it.

“Umm…. you didn’t need to give me one of your guns just because I gave you some of my ex’s clothes. How many weapons do you have anyway? That’s not the point…. It’s not…. we’re not bartering….”

“Just keep it okay?” He seemed very adamant about it so she didn’t press the issue.

“Ok. Well, I gotta figure out why my computer’s operating slowly, so….” Felicity then awkwardly moved out of the kitchen.

James stayed in the kitchen for a few moments, savoring his coffee, then followed her into the living room. When he entered, she’d removed the back of her laptop and was inspecting the interior of the machine. “What are you doing?”

“My laptop’s running a little slow. I think one of the wires might be a little loose.” She said, grabbing a small screwdriver and not looking up. “Or one of the chips might be damaged.”

“And you…. know how to inspect something like that?”

“I built my first computer when I was 7. I could fix a loose wire in my sleep.”

“I didn’t know computer science lessons started that young.” In the last few days, James had been able to pick up on many important facts about Felicity. Her babbling taught him some of the small details about her. From her babbles, he knew she was scared of kangaroos, loved something called ‘Doctor Who’ and studied computer science.

“They don’t. I…. my dad and I used to build them.” Her voice got sad and James decided to drop the subject. “You don’t need to just sit there staring at me.”

“Nothing else I can do.”

Felicity rolled her eyes, stood up, walked over to a shelf next to the TV, and grabbed something. She handed him a hard cover book and said, “Read this so I can fix my computer and work on my thesis in peace for an hour or two. “

He looked down and saw the cover of the book had a boy with glasses on a broomstick in midair. The title read Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone. It seemed like a strange title. James shrugged and opened the book.

* * *

  **March**

Felicity came back to her apartment from class, walked into her kitchen to get something to eat and gave a long sigh. “James?” she said a little irritably.

“What?” the man in question asked, poking his head into the room. He looked at her for a moment before leaving the room briefly, grabbing something from the coffee table and handing it to her. She looked down at the nine inch long knife in her hand, shook her head and remembered what she was about to say.

“What did we talk about yesterday?” she asked. She was approaching loud voice territory.

“I…. um…I…”

“Putting dirty dishes in the dishwasher.”

“I know.”

“So why didn’t you do it then? It’s not that hard. The machine is next to the fracking sink! All you have to do is rinse them off and put them in there!”

“It doesn’t seem that critical to me.”

“It’s not ‘critical’, it’s just…not doing it is really annoying, okay?! They stack up in the sink and get gross or we run out of plates. Do you get that?”

James was fine with her reprimanding him, until she began to yell. There were three things in the sink and she was clearly over-reacting. “I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry that I forgot to put two coffee mugs and a butter knife in the dishwasher. I can see how very problematic that is.”

“It’s not about how many things are in the sink!”

“This isn’t really about the dishes, is it? You’re annoyed at something else and projecting it onto the dishes argument.”

Felicity deflated almost instantly. “Yeah, you’re right its not. Cooper’s mom showed up on campus today. She still blames me for his death and pretty much followed me from my last class to my car yelling about how he got arrested because he wanted to impress me.”

James went from angry to concerned in a millisecond. “Did she do anything to you? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just…not exactly the best day I’ve ever had.”

* * *

 

“Why is he called ‘The Doctor’ if the show is called ‘Doctor Who’?” James asked. Felicity had roped him into watching quote ‘the best sci-fi show ever’ and eating ‘mint chip: the greatest invention of mankind’ after she’d come back from MIT one day, excited to celebrate good feedback on her thesis.

“He just is. The show never really delves into why but there’s a lot of theories. Shut up and watch the show.” Felicity responded.

It was quiet for a moment before he had another question. “Why do they keep playing that creepy music whenever they show one of those statues?”

“You’ll see, ok. Just watch the show.” She replied exasperated.

James was going to ask another question, when onscreen one of the statues had moved and the main character’s friend disappeared. “Oh, I kinda get it now.”

* * *

 

**April**

Felicity had spent the last twelve hours crying. James had left to protect her, and if half the things she imagined would happen did happen, he was probably dead already. She shuffled into her kitchen to get some coffee and food. Crying really took a lot out of her. She dropped both when she turned around to find three masked people standing in her living room and her front door ajar.

“Where is Al-Jundi?” a female voice coming from the person in the middle asked.

“I don’t know who that is.”

The woman who spoke removed her hood and Felicity saw that she was a dark-haired woman in her mid-20s. “I am Nyssa, daughter of Ra’s al Ghul, Heir to the Demon. Do not attempt to lie to me.”

“Felicity Smoak, daughter of Donna, soon-to-be MIT graduate. And I honestly don’t know who you’re talking about.”

The woman pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket and showed it to Felicity. “This is Al-Jundi.” It was a photo of James, which looked like it was taken around the same time she met him. “We’re…. aware that he was hiding here for the last few months.”

“Who are you people? Why do you want him?“

“It is the will of Ra’s al Ghul.” One of the people behind Nyssa said.

“How do I know you’re not one of the people he’s hiding from?”

“You do not. However, if we were Hydra, we wouldn’t have waited for you to awaken before confronting you. Nor would we be having this conversation here. I also wouldn’t have killed Al-Jundi’s intended target two days ago.”

“Wait, his target? Who…. what?” Felicity’s mind began to race. Who exactly was James, what was Hydra and why did he have a target?

“You really didn’t know, did you?” Nyssa asked and Felicity realized she had spoke out loud. Nyssa then turned to her companions. ”Leave us.”

She then spent several minutes explaining to Felicity what Hydra was, what the League was, who James was and why they were looking for him.

“Well, that explains a lot, although it doesn't answer why he kept handing me weapons every time I walked into the room.”

“Do you know where he is?” Nyssa asked.

“He…he went back. To Hydra. They…someone came looking for him yesterday, and they attacked me…. he said the only way he could keep me safe is if he went back…. oh god. I never should’ve let him leave.”

“You couldn’t have stopped him.” Nyssa concluded very clinically. “I must…. take you to Nanda Parbat. The Demon Head will wish to speak with you.”

“Uh, no. I am a week away from being done with my degree. I can’t just disappear right before my thesis defense because the leader of some ancient sect of assassins needs to talk to me.”

Something about how insistent Felicity was being about staying and how upset she was by James leaving gave Nyssa pause. The assassin realized she could delay her father for a few days under the guise of being certain.

“I suppose I will need to survey this area for a few days. In case Al-Jundi returns or another lead to him appears. Ten days or so should be adequate. When my observation is completed, you will accompany me to Nanda Parbat.”

* * *

 

**Nanda Parbat- May 2009**

True to her word, Nyssa ‘surveilled’ the area around Felicity’s apartment for two weeks before dragging the blonde to Nanda Parbat at the end of that time. Felicity was unceremoniously pulled into a lavish looking room immediately after arrival.

“Do you know who I am?” a middle-aged man in rather fancy looking robes asked her. He had an air of danger about him.

“Well, judging by how important you look and how scared everyone else seems to be of you, I’m going to guess Ra’s al Ghul.”

“You are correct.” Ra’s said. “Do you know why you’ve been brought here?”

“Not really, Nyssa said it had something to do with James…er…. Al-Jundi.”

“And what exactly is your relationship with him?”

“Umm…. that’s kind of not your business.” Felicity responded.

“You will answer the question.” One of the assassins in the room snapped. Ra’s spoke several words in a language Felicity couldn’t identify and the assassin bowed and left.

“I will admit, your response is…. unusual. Most people would fear angering Ra’s al Ghul with such impertinence. “

“Not exactly most people. And I’ve had a strange few weeks.”

“Answer the question.” A woman who was a little older than Nyssa asked.

“We’re…friends.” Felicity answered honestly and Ra’s stared at her. He seemed to be inspecting her and his stare began to make Felicity feel immensely uncomfortable.

“Ah, love. Usually such a useless and troublesome emotion. Something people thrown around as an explanation or excuse to wave away the true motives of their actions. Although, on occasion, it is rather advantageous, isn’t it?” He then addressed the other assassins in the room, which Felicity guessed involved telling them to leave. Soon, she was left with Nyssa, Ra's and the woman who spoke earlier. “I suppose if I cannot free Al-Jundi from Hydra, I must protect his beloved from them.”

“Why exactly do you care about ‘freeing’ him from Hydra? Hydra is evil, yeah, but you’re the leader of a group literally called the ‘League of Assassins’. Doesn’t seem much better.”

“The League does not kill indiscriminately. We eliminate threats to society and humanity at large. You may disagree with our methods, but every life we take serves a greater purpose. Hydra does not share that trait. Anyone in their way is a threat, and as are any innocent bystanders.”

“Oh.” Felicity said in response.

“Talia, escort Miss Smoak to suitable quarters. We shall speak more later” Ra’s said before sauntering away.The unknown woman nodded and gestured for Felicity to follow.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky starts over, and fights with himself along the way.

**30 miles outside Washington**

In an abandoned auto garage on the outskirts of Haymarket, Virginia, the former Fist of Hydra contemplating his next move. Different aspects of his psyche battled with themselves. The Asset wanted to go back to Hydra, Bucky Barnes didn’t. 

_Return to base?_ The Asset suggested

_NO!  Don’t want to go back, can’t go back._

_Failed mission._

_Didn’t want mission in the first place. Didn’t want to be Hydra in first place._ _I remembered…I Remembered…. I REMEMBERED. The man on the ship, I knew him. ‘I’m with you til the end of the line.’ Memories beginning to return._

_Situation seems…familiar somehow. Perhaps return is not ideal._

As soon as he left the bank of the Potomac River, Bucky’s ‘training’ had finally come in handy for something useful. Within half an hour, he had a vehicle, food, clothing, money, and ammunition. It was a good thing people were so oblivious and wasteful. He even managed to steal one of those devices people kept glued to their hands these days. The abandoned garage provided necessary shelter until new goal could be determined. Now, he was arguing with himself.

_Locate man on ship._ The Asset suggests. _Might have answers._ _Will give new mission._

_No. Potential for recapture too high. Man, Steve, is too high profile to engage._

_Remain here and wait then._ The Asset says

_Wait for what?_ Bucky replies surprised that the Asset was giving in so easily.

_Unsure. Memories? New mission? Truth? Better than Hydra. Moving closer to DC increases likelihood of being identified, relocated and recaptured._

 

The first day in his hideout, Bucky cataloged the munitions and assets acquired. A sniper rifle, three different types of machine guns, four automatic handguns, six knives, and two grenades make up his arsenal. It was a subpar armory. He has three shirts, two sets of pants and a few outer garments, which his mind identifies as ‘hoodies’ for some unknown reason. A loaf of bread, two jars, one labeled ‘peanut butter’, the other ‘Smuckers’, seven bottles of water and nine cans of soup. He should have grabbed more. The wallet he stole contained four plastic cards with raised numbers on one side, various ‘membership cards’ and $760 in cash. That seemed like a lot of money to have at one time.

 

The second day, Bucky cleaned and prepared his entire arsenal. The action was both soothing and mind numbing. As he cleaned, he recovered a memory of Steve again. In it, Steve, a much smaller Steve, was in a fight he couldn’t win and he had to step in to protect him. Something about the memory indicated this was not a unique event. He discovered he likes peanut butter but finds the ‘Smuckers’ food to be too sugary.

 

The third day, Barnes decided to risk going into town. He needed to know what had happened in the last few days. Gauge how Hydra had responded and evaluate the safety and acceptability of his hideout.  He also needed hot food. He entered a restaurant called ‘Bob’s Diner’ and was greeted by a very chipper teenager who sat him down at the counter. The news and other customers were discussing the events in Washington earlier that week.

“Crazy right?” a woman with the nametag ‘Ashley’ asked when she saw him watching the television. She then held up a plastic carafe. “Coffee?”

Bucky nodded and she filled the mug in front of him. He tasted it and thought _I remember this. It used to taste better._ His meal went well for the most part. Nobody jumped up and shouted ‘it’s that guy from the news’ nor did anyone show up looking for him. He could tell his body language was making the other three people present uncomfortable and worried about further gaining their attention. He paid, left the building and made a decision, two actually. One: he could never return to the diner. Two: he needed to find an alternative hideout. Something with electricity and a way to heat food. Warm food was just better.

 

The fourth and fifth days were spent looking for a new place to lay low. He ended up leaving Haymarket and finding an apartment building a few miles outside the town. Of the twenty units, only three were occupied. Breaking into one was surprisingly easy, and the residence came furnished. Knowing he’d kept the stolen vehicle too long, Bucky drove it to a large building with the name ‘Wal-Mart’ on the front and left it in the parking lot.

 

In those two days, no new memories of Steve surfaced, but other ones did. A great number were various assignments and missions he’d been forced to complete. Sleep was difficult those nights. When he finally relocated to his new hideout, a strange thing happened. He remembered something that didn’t have anything to do with Steve or being the Asset. He was putting his meager amount of food away when it hit him.

_“What do you mean you’ve never had McDonalds? It’s McDonalds!” a female voice said incredulously._

_“I mean I’ve never had it. Or if I did, I don’t remember.” He answered shrugging. Unlike with Steve and unlike with Hydra, he felt…peaceful. Steve, especially small-Steve, usually stressed him out and Hydra made him afraid, but the woman caused neither reaction._

_The woman, who had blonde hair, blue eyes and glasses, deflated for a second. “Right. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring it up.”_

_The room they were in was silent for a minute. “Well, maybe…I should try it just to see.” He suggested. The woman instantly perked up and smiled._

 As Bucky was pulled out of the memory, a series of questions came to him. Who was the woman? How did he know her? Why did being around her make past-him feel so…peaceful?

 

Bucky developed a pattern doing surveillance around his new hideout. He’d sleep for a few hours, perform a perimeter sweep, maintain his arsenal and try to understand any new memories he’d gotten. Rinse and repeat. Every three days, he’d leave his base to acquire more food and other necessities.

He had several memories resurface over the following week. He began to understand why Steve stressed him out, Steve used to be a small man who didn’t know how to back down from a fight. He witnessed himself kill multiple people and relived bits and pieces of fighting people in Europe. The only thing he discovered about the blonde woman who liked  ‘McDonalds’ was that her name was Felicity.

 

Bucky had gotten so wrapped up in figuring out whom he was and what he’d forgotten, he let his guard down. He didn’t vary his routes home nor did he vary what store he went to. He’d developed a false sense of security. Sixteen days after pulling Steve from the river, Bucky returned from the store to find three men standing in his living room dressed in all black. They didn’t appear to be field operatives, but Bucky was still on edge.

“Bewildered.” The man in the middle said.

_Code word. MUST COMPLY_

_NO!_

_YES!_

Bucky went still and the man on the left spoke. “Told you stealing the list was a good idea.”

“You will follow us.” The man in the middle said. The trio began to walk out the door. The Asset resisted for a few seconds and the man repeated the code word. They put him into a vehicle and drove to an empty office building, went inside and waited. Looking around, the building was clearly an old Hydra facility. Stacks of ammunition stood directly in front of him. A wall of computers, all offline, ran along one wall. It surprised the Asset that no one attempted to restrain him or check him for weapons. Clearly they had no prior experience with the Asset.

Two of the men began discussing what they were going to do with ‘their share’ while the third, who seemed to be in charge, began to pace.

“We’re gonna be rich!” One of them said.

_This is unusual behavior for Hydra agents._ The Asset thought

_Shut up and pay attention. Need more information._ Bucky replied

“Quiet. “ the man in the middle said. He pulled out a phone and dialed it. “We found your missing ghost…no I won’t tell you where… six million and not a cent less…I don’t care about Hydra I care about me…I could always walk him right into the CIA, see what they’ll give me…that’s what I thought…no, when we get the money, you get the Soldier.” He hung up the phone and smirked. “There. We get our cash, and they get their Asset back.”

“Dude, what if he tells them who we are? Or where we’re going?” one man asked, he sounded very young or at the very least, inexperienced.

“He won’t. As soon as they have him, they’re going to put him back in the machine and make him forget.” The leader said.

“They did that last time and regretted it.” One of the others shot back.

A wave of memories hit Bucky as the men argued.

_“They…. they don’t let me remember. The people who are looking for me. They keep making me forget, I think.”_

_“I hope I get to remember you.” the Winter Soldier said before walking away from Felicity_

_“You still have your memories? Hydra let you keep them?” Felicity asked standing in a hotel room._

_“ **Wipe him**.”_

_I’m sorry Felicity, I tried._

_“I knew him.” he insisted. He knew the man on the bridge._

_“Wipe him and start over.”_

 

“We’re home free.” The man in charge said arrogantly. “He’s gonna sit here until we lead them here as long as we keep saying his stupid trigger word. See, bewildered.”

 The Assets body went slack. _Fight it._

_I can’t._

_You did it for Steve on the ship, you tried to do it for Felicity, do it for you._

Bucky blinked, that logic did make sense. He didn’t remember if he’d ever fought it prior to Felicity and Steve. He took a deep breath before grabbing the closest man around the neck.

“Bewildered. Bewildered!” the other two yelled.

“Doesn’t seem to be working anymore.” Bucky answered honestly before dropping the now unconscious man. He turned to the other two men. “How’d you find me?”

“There’s a tracking device in your arm” the non-leader answered.

Bucky grabbed the man by the throat. “If that were the case, they would have found me a week ago. How did you actually find me?”

“We…ack….we got lucky. Kevin was getting out of dodge when you literally walked right past him this morning.”

Bucky then put him in a sleeper hold. While he did this, the leader pulled out a gun and pointed it at Bucky.

“Ok, maybe the code words don’t work, but that doesn’t mean anything. I’m getting my money and you’re going back to Hydra.” Both his hands and his voice shook as he spoke.

“Are you scared?” Bucky asked menacingly as he took a step towards the man. “You should be. I’ve killed more people than you’ve met.”

“Stop moving or I’ll shoot.”

“No, you won’t.” Bucky then shot his left arm out and grabbed the gun. He hit the man in the face with it. Knowing this was a supply facility Bucky quickly duct-taped the three men to chairs in the room and began exploring. 

He found several more weapons, mostly knives and handguns, some of which he took to grow his arsenal. He also acquired a substantial amount of cash from a safe that wasn’t even locked, some burner phones, a laptop and thankfully, several boxes of field-suitable food, mostly nonperishable items like protein bars.  Bucky carried his supplies to the SUV he’d been brought it, but stilled when he saw two people standing next to the vehicle. Next to them were three prone bodies.

“Hello Sergeant Barnes” a female voice with a British accent said.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky gets a nudge in the right direction, Steve gets a lead, but not the one he wanted, and the Emerald Archer gets a wake up call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to ignore like 97% of AOS canon, but some characters will appear (not often but still).

**Virginia**

“Hello Sergeant Barnes” a female voice with a British accent said.

Bucky looked the woman over. She had dark hair and looked like she was around 30 years old. There was an intensity about her that set him on edge. The man next to her had a mask covering his face and didn't move or speak. “You are not Hydra.” He stated. Her overall demeanor and the sword strapped to her back was enough to tell him that. Swords weren't Hydra's style, too up close and personal for their tastes.

“No, I most certainly am not. Nor do I have any interest in allowing them to find you.”

He tensed slightly, before putting the duffel bag in his hand into the vehicle. Even if she didn’t want Hydra to find him didn’t mean she was on his side. He turned his back on her to look into the SUV and saw most of the stuff from his hideout was already inside. This piqued his curiosity. “Who are you? What do you want? Why are you calling me Sergeant Barnes?”

“My name is Talia. I’m… well, I suppose you could call me a friend of a friend. As for calling you Sergeant Barnes, that is your name. And we both know that you know that.”

“Why are you here?”

“As I said, I’m a friend of a friend. You do not know it, but my family owed you a favor. Killing your captors’ back-up and assisting you in evading Hydra once again should make us even. In addition, someone my family protects wants you to be free. By my estimation, you have roughly 30 minutes before your former captors arrive to collect you.“ Talia said all of this while sounding like she was discussing the weather.

“And go where? I don’t exactly have a lot of people I can trust at the moment. Or people I even know.” He only knew about three people who weren't Hydra. One was standing in front of him, the second was too high profile and the last one he only had a first name to go by.

“West. I hear Starling City is nice this time of year. Big cities are the best places to hide.” Talia said knowingly. “Who knows, maybe you’ll run into a familiar face. “

Bucky didn’t have anything to say to that and didn’t want to waste anymore time questioning the woman. He knew she was trying to direct him somewhere, but was too exhausted and confused to continue this roundabout conversation. Steve and Felicity, at least in his memories, were straightforward enough to say what they meant most of the time.  “Thank you, I guess.”

“You’re welcome. Now go.”

* * *

**New York**

Steve sighed as he stared out the window of his room at Stark Tower. Well, one of his rooms. Tony had given him an entire floor, but so far he had only used the bedroom and the gym two floors below.

After the events in DC, and getting out of the hospital, Steve immediately set to work finding Bucky. Or at least he tried to. During the three days Steve was hospitalized, Bucky had managed to disappear. The file he’d gotten from Natasha had helped fill in a few blanks, but it contained no information after 2003. The file had the added issue of being a little too informative of what they actually did to Bucky after his 'death'. Calling what Hydra did to him 'torture' was the understatement of the millennium; torture didn't even begin to describe what was written in that file. The gnawing feeling that the file didn't even contain half of what really happened only made him more fearful for his missing friend. Steve didn’t make it two pages in before he never wanted to read the phrase ‘behavioral conditioning’ ever again.

After moping around DC for a few extra days. Tony convinced Steve to move up to New York. Bucky’s trail was cold and, to quote the Stark genius himself, ‘between you, me and JARVIS, we’ll find the one-armed wonder in no time’. So far, the statement hadn’t proven true.Steve was heading upstairs to talk to  Tony about a different way to track Bucky when he ran into Maria Hill.

“How you holding up?” she asked, both wanting to know and trying to be polite.

“As well as you might think. How’s life working for Stark?” Shortly after Hydra was exposed, Fury had left rebuilding SHIELD to Coulson, a decision Steve didn’t entirely agree with, and Hill left to work for Stark. Half of the loyal agents believed she felt snubbed, the other half thought it was her only choice. Everyone knew Coulson was clean, but Hill no longer had the trust of the intelligence community.

“You’ve met him, so just imagine what the answer is.” Working for Stark Industries was fine. Pepper Potts was a good boss, but Tony could be…. difficult.

“Right. You hear anything from Phil?” Coulson had promised to inform the Avengers, particularly Steve, when and if any leads on Hydra cells were found. Or any sighting of Bucky Barnes. Rogers trusted the man, but the inertia was slowly driving him mad.

“Nothing relating to Barnes, but he did mention something odd. I was heading up to discuss it with all of you.” Steve nodded and followed Maria out of the elevator.

 

Steve and Maria stepped off the elevator to find an overly-caffeinated looking Tony, a bored Natasha and Clint, and two neutral looking faces in Bruce and Pepper.

“Finally, you and Capsicle are here. I have a very important experiment I’m delaying for this. Did we find the tin man or what?”

A previously unused monitor fizzled and turned on, showing the face of Phil Coulson. “We haven’t found Mr. Barnes, Stark.”

“Then why did Hill call us all here?”

“Because something…. unusual has happened and I agreed to inform all of you when news reached me about it.”

“What happened?” Steve asked concerned.

“Intermittently over the last two weeks, SHIELD has been receiving files from anonymous sources. They’re being sent electronically and appear to be generated internally.”

“Ok, and?”

“We’ve been getting the same files, as has the CIA according to Agent Carter. And other agencies, I'd assume.” Hill admitted. “The exact same files, all seemingly internal.”

“That is correct, but beside the point. All the files have two things in common. They contain a list of names, and irrefutable proof that the names on that list are Hydra members. It’s led to over two dozen arrests so far.”

“So, someone else is hunting Hydra.” Steve surmised.

“Not hunting,” Bruce said. “Unmasking.”

“Why are you telling us this now? You’ve known about these sources for weeks.” Natasha asked.

“Because its all one person.” Coulson stated. “Every cybersecurity person I have says its one person. As does the CIA, as does JARVIS.”

“That is correct, Sir.” JARVIS said. “The code, or what I was able to record, has been consistent each time and indicates one individual’s work.”

"What do you mean 'what you were able to record'?" Tony asked.

"Whatever method this individual is using to access our systems, it erases itself once the upload is complete. I've resorted to recording what pieces I can of the code while it's being implemented. All evidence points to a single person's coding style." JARVIS answered.

“There’s something else.” Coulson admitted. “The reason I’m telling you this is because of the file I got this morning.”

“You got something? I didn’t.” Hill asked.

“The list of names consisted solely of the Hydra members who were in DC two weeks ago. Operatives, scientists, you name it. They all were somehow involved in handling the Winter Soldier during the last year. In addition to evidence, it was their last known location or a way to track them. I figured, all things considered, a few of you might want to look into this personally.” Coulson said. "'All mystery aside, I'm pretty sure this hacker wants to help us." 

“Who would want to help us chase down Hydra?” Steve asked.

“Maybe Hydra hurt someone they cared about too.” Pepper suggested.

* * *

 

**Starling City**

Felicity seriously wanted to punch whoever came up with Murphy’s Law. Anything that can go wrong will was bad enough when talking about plans or a job interview or something. it had a whole new level of awfulness when vigilantes and criminals and crazy, one-eyed men with swords and their bitchy brunette back-up was involved. Since discovering James was alive Thea had been abducted, Oliver lost QC to Isabel who it turns out had been working with Slade, Felicity got fired and Roy’s Mirakuru rage issues had gotten worse.

Felicity had decided to go the freelance route after getting fired, but business was slow so far. Freelance work tended to rely on word of mouth and she’d only had one client so far. The only thing that made Felicity not want to stab someone with a fork was the side project she’d given herself.With little work, a stalemate with Slade and nowhere to direct her conflicted feelings, the blonde decided to revisit her hacktivist roots. Quite a few intelligence agencies were receiving anonymous tips and evidence regarding Hydra members still at large and where to find them. She might not be able to find James, but exposing Hydra members made her feel like she was making a difference. 

 

Oliver walked into the lair one evening, anxious to discuss something with Felicity. He’d thought of another way to track Slade Wilson and possibly lessen the effect of the Mirakuru in his system. His thoughts were derailed when he reached the bottom of the stairs to find the lair hacker-less. John and Sara were sparring, and Roy was attempting to meditate, but Felicity was nowhere to be found. He pulled out his phone and dialed her number.

“Hello?” her voice called from the other end.

“Hey, where are you? Why aren’t you at the club?”

“I can’t tonight. There’s something I need to do.” She said distractedly.

“That can wait, we need to find Slade. Now.”

“No, it can’t wait Oliver. We’re at an impasse with him and there’s something I need to take care of. I’ll be back tomorrow night.”  she hung up before he could argue.

“What was that about?” Digg asked.

“Felicity’s not coming tonight. Apparently, she has something better to do.”

“She didn’t say something better, Ollie. She just said something else.” Sara said defending Felicity. She couldn’t even imagine what the two weeks had been like for the blonde. All she knew was that James was alive, she didn't know where he was, what state he was in or if he even remembered her. Hell, she knew he was alive two weeks ago. For all Felicity knew, that wasn't even the case anymore. “You can’t really be mad at her for that.”

“Why not?” He shot back.

 “She has a life outside of this bunker. The team is important to her, but its not the only thing in her life. You can’t ask her to drop everything every time you might have a lead.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think will happen first, Slade tries to destroy Starling or Bucky and Felicity reunite?


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky arrives in Starling, and the timing is a little unfortunate, for some people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My ranking of super-soldier serums goes as follows:  
> 1) Erskine's formula (No side effects other than inability to get drunk)  
> 2) Knock-off Erskine (Bucky's trauma aside, not a bad serum, does it's job)  
> 3) Mirakuru (self-explanatory, makes you go cray-cray)
> 
> This may or may not be important later.

**Starling City-Edge of the Glades**

The last few weeks in Starling had seen a lot of death and destruction. Moira Queen was killed, stabbed through the heart by a sword in front of both of her children. In addition, a group of prisoners had escaped Iron Heights and disappeared. Sara Lance had disappeared shortly after Roy’s Mirakuru rage returned to ‘find a friend’ and hadn’t been seen or heard from since. Slade and his army were about to begin their plans to destroy Starling.

A few days earlier, a nondescript, black SUV drove past the ‘Welcome to Starling’ sign. Its sole occupant was a man with long brown hair, a metal arm and a lot of unanswered questions. Bucky Barnes set up a base in an abandoned building on the edge of the Glades, trying to figure out who or what he was looking for in the city. He’d taken the scenic route to the pacific northwest and spent most of his downtime on the road trying to locate the blonde woman from his memories. Felicity was not a very common name, but without a last name, his search still yielded thousands of results. It seemed hopeless.

That is, until now. Bucky was performing a perimeter sweep around his hideout when he heard a commotion. A group of armed men all dressed in matching outfits seemed to be flooding the streets. Barnes was scoping out a place to observe whatever was happening when he spotted a large man fighting a smaller woman who was wielding a sword. He arrived on the rooftop closest to the fight right as the woman spoke.

“You want to save me some time and energy? Tell me where I can find Felicity Smoak. I have been aching to put a bullet in her smug little face ever since the day- “

The woman’s threat was cut off when she was hit by a van. Bucky didn’t stay to watch the aftermath. The masked woman had accidentally given him the information he needed. As soon as the name ‘Felicity Smoak’ was uttered, something in his mind clicked. Felicity, his Felicity, the woman from his memories, that was her name. she must be here, in this city somewhere. With that, Bucky turned and left, determined to find her. Unbeknownst to him, he’d just walked away from the very person he was looking for.

He returned to his hideout, and began researching her. Most of the results were gossip articles about her suspected relationship to someone named Oliver Queen. His curiosity turned to panic when an alert on the computer informed him that Starling City was under attack by the masked men he’d seen earlier. His mind finally processed the woman’s words. She wanted to kill Felicity, Bucky obviously couldn’t let that happen. He didn’t know who she was to him yet, but she was important. Grabbing his sniper rifle and numerous other guns and knives, he left his hideout to find the blonde hacker, and kill anyone who stood in his way.

 

Bucky returned to where the woman was, only to find her, and the man she had been fighting gone. He headed further into the city, staying out of view but heading further into the area where the masked men were. Bucky descended from a building in the middle of the Glades, only to find a sword at his throat.

“My sister told me you might be here.” A female voice said. He looked around and saw six masked men, different from the men tearing the city apart, and a woman. All were dressed similarly to the woman who’d sent him to Starling, Talia and her silent companion. “I am Nyssa, I believe you’ve met my sister Talia. It is nice to meet you Al-Jundi. I have a proposition for you.”

“I don’t do that anymore.” Bucky said solemnly.

“If I needed someone killed, I would do it myself. Morality aside, killing is rather easy; saving people on the other hand is difficult. I'd like your assistance to stop the army tearing this city apart.”

“And why would I help you? Just….out of curiosity.”

“Because you’re trying to make amends for the things you’ve been forced to do. And because if this city is destroyed, Felicity Smoak will likely die.”

“How do you know that name?” he asked angrily.

“We met shortly after you two did.” Nyssa responded vaguely. She slowly reached into her pocket and withdrew something, holding it out to him. "Whether you decide to aid us or not, this may prove useful."

* * *

 

**Arrow Cave**

“Slade has about fifty or so of those human weapons.” Digg announced standing up after inspecting the damage to the lair. “We’re gonna need a whole army if we plan on hitting them with the cure.”

“I know.” Sara’s voice called out. Everyone turned and grabbed a weapon when they saw she wasn’t alone.

“Which is why an army is what I’ve brought.” Nyssa finished for her.

The room was at a silent stalemate before Felicity broke it. “Gee, Sara, you could have called before you invited five, six, seven assassins down into our top-secret lair.”

“What is she doing here?” Oliver asked.

“I asked her to come.” Sara admitted, while Nyssa took a step towards Felicity. Both women began to look her over, eyes lingering on the cut on the blonde’s forehead.

“That’s where you went, Nanda Parbat, the League of Assassins. These people are mercenaries Sara, and whatever they promised you, it comes at a price- “

“You don’t have to worry about it, because it's already been paid.”

“You agreed to go back?”

“It’s a little more complicated than that, but no.” Ra’s knew asking Sara to become an assassin again would lead to her attempting to leave, again. Instead, he offered her an indefinite assignment he’d known she’d accept. Especially since it allowed her to stay close to Starling.  “Look, I’m not about to let Slade Wilson hurt Laurel or my father. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to keep the ones that I love safe and I hope you’re ready to do the same.”

“You may not want my help Mr. Queen, but there is little question you are in desperate need of it.” Nyssa said, ending the argument before Oliver could respond.

“First we need to find Slade’s base of operations.”

“Slade Wilson and Isabel Rochev are using your former office building as their base of operations.”

Oliver walked away, made sure Roy was up for the mission and left with Nyssa and the others soon after.

* * *

 

**New York**

Natasha, Steve and Tony were standing on the top floor of Stark Tower watching the live broadcast and debating their options.

“For those of you just joining us, we’re live in Starling City seeing what appears to be some form of terrorist attack by an unknown force. Earlier this evening, several dozen men dressed in identical uniforms began pouring out into the streets. They’ve been attacking anyone they can find and destroying any property they come across. The men appear to have enhanced strength, stamina and endurance. Reports have come in that the Arrow, in the company of other masked individuals, has been seen fighting this unknown force. The United States army has been dispatched to-” the anchor said before the TV was turned off.

“We should already be on our way there.” Steve said.

“Steve, this isn’t exactly our kind of fight.” Natasha responded.

“US Army’s already there. They’ll handle it.” Tony replied.

“That’s not the army, its ARGUS.” Maria said storming in. “Not shocking, but also not good news.”

“What’s ARGUS?”

“They’re an intelligence agency that deals with similar threats as SHIELD, but on a smaller scale. Their director tried to have me labelled as ‘government property’ after I woke up.” Steve responded sounding uncharacteristically angry. “Too bad I was physically in SHIELD custody at the time.”

“That’s not the point.” Maria interrupted. “Even if you leave right now, you’d never make it to Starling City in time.”

“They can’t expect to defeat an army in a few hours.” Natasha pointed out.

“The Arrow may not have a choice. Waller will probably bomb the city at dawn or something equally horrifying and justify it by claiming she’s protecting the rest of the country. There’s a reason SHIELD stopped working with ARGUS a long time ago.” Hill replied. 

"So the fate of an entire city is in the hands of Legolas' green knock-off?" Tony asked.

"Looks like it."

* * *

 

**Queen Consolidated**

Oliver and Sara fought their way to the top floor of Queen Consolidated. They entered his old office to find half a dozen Mirakuru soldiers, Isabel and Slade himself waiting.

“You must have quite a bit of faith in this cure if you’ve come alone.”

“We didn’t come alone.” Oliver said. A few seconds later, Nyssa and the other assassins came crashing through the window. The archer fired a few arrows at Slade, only for them to bounce off his armor. After about 30 seconds, Slade dove out of the window, leaving Isabel and his army behind.

Sara and Nyssa both fought Isabel until they were able to disarm her. They got her onto her knees and Sara was about to break her neck when something whizzed past Oliver’s ear. A nanosecond later, there was a hole in Isabel’s forehead and she fell forward. Oliver looked out the window but couldn’t see the sniper who’d killed Isabel.

“What was that?”

“I'm unsure. The League would never lower itself to use guns. Perhaps we're not the only ones who want to stop Slade Wilson” Nyssa responded vaguely. The only people who didn't definitively know who the sniper was were Oliver, Sara and Roy. Watching Oliver Queen get confused was rather entertaining.

“Sorry about the blood. In fairness, a year ago I would have just shot through you, so I guess that’s progress. You’re welcome by the way.” A male voice in Oliver’s ear said.

“Who the hell are you?” Oliver did not receive a response. The group then headed to the tunnel Slade’s men planned to use to leave Starling.

* * *

 

**Starling City Tunnel**

“It’s over Slade. Your army is broken.” Oliver said into his comm.

“And I pity them, but once again, you miss the point. I have the one you love.” Slade responded. “You’re going to meet me where I say, otherwise I will kill her.”

“You do what you have to, I’m done playing your games.”

“You’re done when I say you’re done! I was surprised, I thought you had a thing for stronger women. But now that I’ve met her, I can see the appeal. She is quite lovely, your Felicity.” Slade said ominously before closing the line.

Oliver closed his eyes and silently pleaded for this plan to work. Several stories above, Bucky Barnes removed his comm, and disappeared into the night. The Arrow might have his own plans, but Felicity needed him now. Afterwards, he and Mr. Queen needed to have a chat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, that cliffhanger means I'm the worst. I just.....I needed to make it into two chapters.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky and Slade face off, Oliver tries to catch up, Felicity gets the surprise of her life

**Slade’s hideout**

Finding Slade Wilson’s hideout was not difficult for Bucky. Maybe it was his training, maybe Slade elected to make things easy on the Arrow. Either way, Bucky was already on his way to rescue Felicity before Slade even called Oliver with a location.

Some part of him, it possessed both the terror-inducing skill set of the Asset and the quietly concealed rage of Bucky Barnes, was itching for the upcoming to fight to be a good one. All he knew was that he needed Felicity to be safe, to be with him, he just needed her period. He needed her, and this ‘Slade’ person was trying to hurt her. All doubts, all desires to be something other than the weapon he’d been turned into, went out the window as soon as she was in danger. The feeling wasn’t unfamiliar. He recalled similar emotion every time small-Steve got into a fight, or got sick, or went outside in cold weather. 

Two sentries along the perimeter were taken out thanks to Bucky’s still assembled sniper rifle and failing to fully scan their assigned areas. Bucky stalked up behind one of the men guarding the door and broke his neck. This brought one of his comrades running, and a rather short fight ensued before Bucky was able to kill that man as well. These people might be ‘enhanced’, but whatever experiment they’d gone through or serum they were given, was a cheap imitation of what the Winter Soldier had received.  As he entered the building, a third guard attempted to sneak up behind him, an unsuccessful and ultimately fatal attempt. Bucky rolled his eyes and pressed forwards.

* * *

 

**The Foundry**

After receiving Slade’s threat, Oliver, Roy and the others returned to the foundry waiting for him to reach out again. Oliver and Roy busied themselves sharpening arrows and cleaning up the mess Slade’s men had made. Both men were so engaged in trying to get their minds off of Slade having Felicity that neither noticed they each had a missed call from Thea.

 

In another area of the foundry, Nyssa and Sara were talking. The blonde was pacing trying to will her mind into not being so anxious. “There has to be a way to find them without waiting for Slade.” Sara bemoaned.

“Slade Wilson appears to be what you would call a ‘drama queen’. He needs an audience. He will not hurt your sister if no one’s there to see it.” Nyssa said, attempting to be comforting.

“Laurel isn’t the only person he has though.” Sara was trying to emphasize how not-happy several dangerous people who be if Slade’s other hostage was harmed. Slade might be strong, but he couldn't withstand a war with the Winter Soldier or the League if something should happen to Felicity.

“I am aware of that, which is why I am not concerned.” Nyssa responded and Sara looked at her confused. “Al-Jundi is in the city. I approached him for his assistance shortly before meeting you earlier tonight. He was…. keeping an eye on the fight at Queen Consolidated.”

Sara felt a glimmer of hope, but remained skeptical. “He’s in the city, that doesn’t mean he’ll be able to find them.”

“If he’s half as skilled as my father believes, he already has.Al-Jundi has been doing this for quite a while. He was listening in when Oliver informed Slade that the fight was nearly over. He heard him threaten her.” Nyssa said, a little annoyed that she had to spell it out. “I suppose I should pity Mr. Wilson, really. When he took Felicity, he couldn’t have known what that would cause.”

Whatever Sara was going to say was cut off by Oliver’s ‘Arrow Phone’ ringing. A few seconds later, he hung up and announced, “Slade gave me his location. Let’s finish this.” Everyone grabbed their gear and left soon after.

* * *

 

**Slade’s hideout**

Bucky stalked silently down the hall of the building. He knew his quarry was inside the building somewhere, but it appeared empty, seventy years of experience made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. As he reached the center of the building, he heard a familiar, and much missed, voice.

“What was she like? Shado?” Felicity asked.

“Does it matter?” A male, Australian voice rebutted.

“Yes, she’s the reason behind all of this, isn’t she? If she’s the reason I’m gonna die, I deserve to know something about her.”

“Deserve has nothing to do with it, Miss Smo- Ah, kid, you made it.”  Bucky heard a grunt and a short tussle before the voice, Slade, called out again. “I must admit, I thought it would take you a little longer to arrive. Miss Lance is still unconscious. My conclusion will have to be delayed.”

The second part of what Slade said made no sense to Bucky. He didn’t know any Miss Lance, nor why her being unconscious meant the Arrow would need to wait. Bucky took another step forward, still not in view of the crazed man.

“Come on, now. Hiding will not solve anything. I still have my sword against the throat of your beloved whether you see it or not.” Slade said. “Are you going to step into the light or do I need to hurt Felicity here to make you say something Oliver?”

Barely concealing his rage, Bucky stepped around the corner right as he said, “Who the hell is Oliver?”

“James…” Felicity said, not believing what she was seeing. Slade was momentarily frozen in shock.

Before Slade could recover, Bucky shot him in the hand, causing him to drop the blade. Felicity saw her chance and moved out of his grasp. Bucky charged at him, tackling him around the middle. The two men fought, trading blows. Slade was good, he clearly had been well trained, but Bucky was better. He was the world’s most deadly assassin after all. Eventually, Bucky managed to pin Slade to the ground and began punching him in the face with his non-human arm.

“Stay. Away. From. Felicity.” Slade stopped putting up a fight soon after, but he kept hitting, until something pulled him out of it.

“James. James!” Felicity yelled, and Bucky paused for a second to look at her. “He’s down, you can stop hitting him now.” He stayed where he was but didn’t continue his assault. Felicity walked slowly over to the pair, not taking her eyes off of Bucky. She withdrew a syringe from her pocket and cautiously bent down, about to administer it.

“What is that?” Bucky asked.

“It’s a cure for the serum in his system. It's a worse version of what Hydra gave you. Makes you strong but it also makes you crazy.” Felicity said, trying to sound calm as she injected it into Slade’s neck. When the needle was empty, Bucky stood up and helped Felicity to her feet. He engulfed her in a huge hug and seemed unwilling to let her go. Eventually, she gasped something akin to ‘can’t breathe’ and he loosened his grip slightly.

“Is…is this real? Is this you? Are you really here? I mean, obviously I’m seeing you, but I’m not hallucinating, am I?”

Bucky smirked before replying. “Yes, it’s real. I finally found you.”

“Yes, you did. Wait, you remember me?”

“Bits and pieces. I remember your name is Felicity, you like computers. The rest….is coming back slowly.” Felicity had a million questions to ask, but before she could, Bucky stilled like he’d heard something. “Is someone else here?”

“Oh, my god. Laurel.” Felicity grabbed a gun Slade had dropped during their fight and went running in the opposite direction with Bucky close behind her. Felicity stopped short a few feet later.

The blonde turned a corner just in time to see Laurel punch an unmasked man, the last of Slade’s goons, in the face with a rather impressive right hook.  The man reeled backwards for a second before a shot rang out. Felicity opened her eyes, hand shaking around the gun. She sighed in relief when she saw the man was down and Laurel was looking at her dazed.

“Are you ok?” the blonde asked.

“Yeah, are you?”

“I think so. Where’d you learn how to hit like that?”

“I needed an outlet after I…. you know….” The attorney trailed off.

Felicity nodded in understanding. “Well, it paid off. That was pretty bad ass.”

“Thanks.” Laurel said smiling. “Where’s Ollie?”

“Not here yet, but Slade’s taken care of. Come on.” The blonde gestured for her to follow.

“Who is he?” Laurel asked when she saw Bucky.

“Oh, this is James. He’s…. he’s my…. it’s kinda complicated. He fought Slade and knocked him out so I could inject him with the cure.”

“Thanks.” Laurel said awkwardly to the man. Right before the trio reached where they’d left Slade, Felicity turned to Bucky.

“I don’t know who’s on their way. If you want to avoid any…. uncomfortable questions, I can tell you where its safe to meet me.”

“I spent three days trying to find you and fought my way across a city that was on the verge of imploding. I’m not going anywhere.”

While Felicity had been checking on Laurel, Oliver and Sara had arrived with Nyssa and the rest of the League. The new arrivals looked around in confusion. Bucky silently slid away from the two women and crept over to the other side of the Arrow. Oliver’s back was to the rest of the group. He was on the phone with Waller.

“It’s over Amanda. Slade’s contained, his army’s been taken out. Call back the drones. Amanda its over!” Waller must have complied, because the drone that had flown past the window a few seconds earlier reversed its trajectory. He hung up and turned around to face Felicity. “What happened?”

“About that….” Felicity started and then trailed off.

Oliver was going to demand an explanation when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned his head slightly, only to be met with a metal fist. The archer went down like a sack of bricks.

“Seriously?” Felicity asked crossing her arms.

“He used you as bait. I think one punch makes it even.” Bucky defended. “Is there anywhere less…. exposed we could have this conversation?”

“Yeah.” Felicity said sighing. She knew when Oliver woke up, she’d have a lot to explain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna take a few days before the next chapter is uploaded


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity has some explaining to do...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From this point on, things in the Arrowverse go rather AU, because I'm not letting the whole 'Heir to the Demon' storyline happen. Some other post-Season 2 events will occur.

Oliver felt himself being slowly dragged back to consciousness. Conversations were happening around him that he couldn’t quite follow at first. Once he was awake, and aware that he’d awoken, he kept his eyes shut and tried to analyze whatever situation he was in. He wasn’t handcuffed or bound in any way. He was still wearing his Arrow suit and, from what he’d overheard, someone was yelling.

“How could he not tell me!” a female voice yelled. A very familiar female voice. “He tells his bodyguard and his secretary and my ex but not me?!”

“Thea, its not like that-“ Roy began to say. The younger Queen had been waiting at Verdant when they returned from dealing with Slade. She said she’d worked out that Oliver was the Arrow right after she found Roy’s costume and put the pieces together. Needless to say, the brunette wasn’t happy.

“Oh really?”

“Oliver, he was forced into telling us his secret. Digg was injured and your brother saved him, I found him bleeding from a gunshot wound, Roy was recovering from an attack. If he’d gotten to choose, none of us would know.” Felicity said, trying to calm the girl down.

Thea scoffed, “Whatever. When he wakes up, tell him I know his secret, and I’m really pissed.”

Someone must have nodded or something, because Thea stormed away and the door to the lair slammed shut. As soon as she was gone, everyone was quiet until Nyssa spoke.

“I’m glad you are ok, my friend.” Nyssa’s voice said from nearby.

“Nice to know you’ve still got my back.” Felicity replied.

“Wait. Friends? You two know each other?” Roy asked.

“Felicity and I have been acquainted for quite a while.” Oliver’s eyes snapped open when he heard Nyssa’s response. “So nice of you to stop pretending Mr. Queen.”

Oliver sat up and growled out “Explain. Now.” at Felicity. He sensed someone shift behind him and take a step closer but didn’t turn.

“Right…. what am I supposed to explain?”

“How you know Nyssa, who punched me, what happened with Slade.”

“Yeah…. all of those answers are kinda connected and some of it isn’t my story to tell. I’ll tell you the short version. I met Nyssa back in 2009 while she was on ‘assignment’. We kinda hit it off as friends and have stayed in touch.”

“How could you not tell me that?”

“It wasn’t really relevant until she came looking for Sara, and that situation resolved itself before I could figure out how to tell you.”

“You still should have told me. You can’t keep secrets like that.”

“Oh, you mean like the secrets you keep? Tell me, if Slade hadn’t shown up, would you have told us about Mirakuru in the first place? Or Shado? Before you get mad at me, take a look in the mirror.”

“That’s not the same thing.”

“Yes, it is!” Felicity said in her loud voice. “See, its not about Nyssa. It’s about the fact that I didn’t tell you about Nyssa. You’re not angry because I lied by omission, you’re upset because now you have to acknowledge that I’m an actual person.”

Oliver got a confused look on his face. “I’ve always seen you as a person.”

“But not a fully-fledged person.  You just are stuck on this idea of me as the only non-complicated person in your life. You keep putting me on this pedestal like I’m some perfect person; I’m not. I have secrets, and a past that you know almost nothing about. I have skeletons in my closet and things that I’ve done that I’m not proud of. Just because my past doesn’t come knocking on the door trying to kill us doesn’t mean it’s not there.”

“Can we get back on track please? So Blondie knows Nyssa. That doesn’t explain why you got punched or what happened with Slade. Or who killed Isabel.” Roy interjected. “Or, you know, him.” Roy pointed behind Oliver and to the left.

“Well, I killed Isabel, so....” A voice from behind Oliver said. The archer turned and saw Bucky Barnes standing behind him glaring. Oliver was about to ask a question when Digg came into the Lair.

“Hey, man. Waller getting arrested held me up-Why are you here?” Digg asked.

“Amanda Waller got arrested?” Oliver asked.

“Yeah. After what happened to SHIELD every agency’s under scrutiny. Someone tipped the right people off about some of Waller’s less-than-ethical methods. Between Task Force X related files being leaked a few days ago and Waller’s attempt to wipe out the city, she was being detained as soon as she canceled the drone strike. Lyla’s still being questioned.” He answered. “Why is he here? Why am I the only one concerned that the Winter Soldier is in our base?”

“What the hell does that even mean?” Roy asked.

“He’s not here for a fight.” Felicity blurted out.

“I don’t go by that name anymore.”

“’How do you know who he is?” Nyssa asked.

“The metal arm kinda gives it away.” Digg said before actually answering the question. “After the whole SHIELD-Hydra debacle, Waller more or less ordered Lyla to find and apprehend him. She probably- “

“Wants him for the Suicide Squad, I know.” Felicity finished. “Too bad she doesn’t pay enough attention to what’s happening outside of ARGUS.” _Then again, even if she did, she couldn’t have stopped me. James has been through enough, I wasn’t about to let that bitch cause him any more problems._

“Wait, you knew this would happen? Why? How?”

“What happened between SHIELD and Hydra had a ripple effect. I don’t know how or why now, but after Natasha Romanoff leaked those files last month, someone decided to follow her lead. Every few days since SHIELD fell, files have been leaked on the deep web and to the right agencies. Someone’s outing Hydra members.” _Well, at least I’m not totally lying. I am technically someone and Natasha Romanoff leaking those files DID make my work seem credible enough to investigate._

“What does that have to do with Waller?”

“I can’t say for sure. Maybe someone stumbled upon Task Force X related files and didn’t see much difference between what Waller was doing and what Hydra did to certain people. Either way, someone felt the need to act before it was too late.” _Or you told me about Task Force X and I’ve been skeptical about Waller ever since._ Felicity said.  “Turns out Waller didn’t actually have the authority to create a task force like that, or you know, put bombs in people’s spines to ensure their compliance. I looked through the files while we were waiting for Oliver to wake up: the only mentions of you or Lyla indicate you two were coerced into working with the Suicide Squad. You should be in the clear.” _I never wanted this to rebound back onto either of you._

“Seems like a lot of work and risk for no recognition.” Sara said.

“Maybe that’s not what they’re looking for.” John said. “Anyway, why’s he here?”

“Right.” Felicity said. “Let me get you caught up. Nyssa and I have known each other for years, I didn’t tell her where to find Sara. I didn’t tell any of you because it wasn’t relevant. Explaining the rest is a little- “

“Just stick to the basics.” Oliver growled.

“Ok. My last year of college, I met the Winter Soldier, er James. Wait do you even want to be called James? I know it’s your name but I feel like I should at least ask what you prefer “

“Anything but ‘The Winter Soldier’ is fine.”

“Ok, so I met James. Long story short, he was running from Hydra. He crashed at my place for a few months. They caught up to him and he had to leave. Right after that, I met Nyssa, and then her dad and her sister.”

“None of that explains why he’s here.” Oliver said. “Or Slade.”

“I’m getting to that. Anyway, remember what happened in DC a few weeks ago? How…preoccupied I was?”

“Yeah. You were worried about- “

“A friend in DC. Meet my friend in DC.” Felicity said pointing to Bucky. “I don’t quite know what happened after that.”

“I was involved, I escaped Hydra and afterwards I was a little lost.” Bucky answered. “I wanted to find Felicity. She is…important to me. I managed to track her to Starling City right when your friend Slade and his army attacked. I ran into Nyssa who was…aware of my presence here. She convinced me to help you, like taking out Isabel Rochev.”

Oliver nodded begrudgingly. “And Slade?”

“I heard him threaten Felicity. I don’t like it when people try to hurt people I care about. I found where he was and dealt with the threat.” Bucky said matter-of-factly.

“How could you go toe-to-toe with him though?” Sara asked.

“He didn’t. He actually kicked Slade’s ass to be honest.” Felicity replied. “Once he was out, I gave Slade the cure, then went to check on Laurel. You saw the rest.”

“But Slade had Mirakuru” Roy said.

“Mirakuru isn’t the only super-soldier serum out there. Most of them don’t drive their subjects crazy. I was…. given a watered-down version of the serum they gave Captain America after they captured me.”

“Still doesn’t explain why you punched me.” Oliver responded. “Or why you're even here.”

“You’re not the only person who cares about Felicity. You used one of the three people on this planet I care about as bait for a psychopath. You’re lucky that’s all I did.” Bucky said before turning to Felicity. She could see that his human hand was shaking slightly. “Sorry, this is a little too…”

Bucky discovered, after his escape, that he didn’t feel comfortable in confined spaces or underground. The Arrow Cave, especially with so many people in it, qualified as both. He’d pushed his discomfort down for Felicity, but it was starting to become too much. He needed to get out of there before something happened.

“I get it. I think tonight’s been stressful enough for everyone.” Felicity then turned to the rest of the group. “I’m exhausted and going home. Good job, go team. Nyssa, tell your sister thanks. Sara, I’ll call you later for girl’s night or something.”

“Looking forward to it.” The last girl’s night they had was fun. After giving Felicity some self-defense lessons, the two blondes had a mini Disney movie marathon and finally got a chance to vent.

Felicity smiled, grabbed Bucky’s hand and led him out of the building.

The rest of Team Arrow turned to face Sara when Felicity implied she’d be sticking around. “Wait, I thought you were leaving. You went back to the League.”

“I told you it was complicated. Ra’s made me an offer, I accepted. It allows me to stay in Starling while repaying my debt to the League.”’

“And what is this ‘assignment’?”

“Don’t worry, it doesn’t interfere with your crusade to save the city from itself.” Sara said. She turned and gathered her things. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a promise to keep.”

“Ah, yes. The city survived, and no one got beheaded, which I believe means you owe me a date.” Nyssa said smiling and walking out with Sara.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I got rid of Waller, she would have hunted Bucky down and I didn't want to go in that direction.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diggle has suspicions, Felicity and Bucky reconnect, and Steve gets some new information.

**Arrow Cave**

“Are we not gonna talk about….that?” Digg asked as soon as Sara and the League members were gone.

“What?” Roy asked clueless.

“I don’t know. Maybe the fact that Thea knows his identity or that Waller was arrested or, I don’t know, that Felicity is friends or whatever with the most dangerous person alive?”

“Wait, the Winter Soldier is dangerous?” Oliver asked finally speaking.

“He’s the world’s most deadly assassin, Oliver. Until last month, no one wanted to admit someone that he even existed.” John responded. Oliver was a good strategist, but he was very, very oblivious when it came to anything not directly impacting him at that moment or outside the city.

“Do you think he’ll hurt her?”

“Dude, he knocked you out because she could have gotten hurt. I’m not worried about blondie, it’s the rest of us who need to watch out.” Roy said, surprised to be defending Bucky.

“I can’t believe she hid all of this from us.” Oliver said mostly to himself. Digg was going to respond when Oliver’s phone rang with a very angry Thea on the other end. Shortly after, Roy went home to quote ‘sleep for a week’, Oliver left to talk with Thea and John was left in the bunker, wondering if what he thought about Felicity was true. She had the skill and access to expose Waller, but had she actually done it?

* * *

 

**Felicity’s house**

The blonde hacker let out a sigh of relief when she got inside the house. The last day, no actually the last month, had felt like it lasted years. She wanted to crawl into bed and sleep for a week. She also didn’t want to fall asleep, afraid that if she woke up, this would all be a dream and Bucky would be gone. The man in question followed her into the house and noticed she seemed preoccupied.

“You ok?” he asked, a little concerned.

The adrenaline of the situation was finally wearing off. “Yeah, I just…. I can’t believe this. Its over, Slade’s been dealt with. You’re here and alive and I’m like 97% sure if I fall asleep I’m gonna wake up and find out this was all some weird hallucination. And I just-”

Bucky put his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him. “Hey, its okay. You had a very stressful couple of days. This…. this is your body and your brain trying to catch up with each other.” He gave her a small smile. “Let’s get you to bed.”

“Yeah, okay.” She said distractedly.

“Would it be alright if I crashed here? I don’t really have anywhere else to go.” He asked.

“Of course, you can stay. Wait, where are you gonna sleep? I have a spare bedroom but half of my closet is covering the bed.”

“I was gonna take the couch honestly.”

“No! You saved my butt tonight, you should get to sleep in a real bed.”

“Felicity, its fine. I’ve slept in worse places, one night on a sofa won’t kill me.” He winced slightly at that. Based on what he remembered, Felicity always got really sad when he mentioned Hydra or his lack of memory. He didn’t want to make her even more upset. His voice got softer. “I promise, it’s okay.”

Felicity grumbled but nodded her head. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

* * *

 

**New York-Next day**

When Steve walked out onto the top floor of Stark Tower, he was met by a flurry of activity. Bruce, Tony and Hill were hunched over one computer, while Pepper was chatting away on a cell phone and more than a dozen people is suits were walking back and forth between stations.

“The Star-Spangled Man is finally awake. Who had money on 10:30?” Tony announced. It was 8 am.

“Hilarious.” Steve deadpanned. “What’s all this?” He asked gesturing to, well, everything.

“Cooperation, Captain Rogers.” Coulson said from his spot surrounded by computer techs. “Agent Hill, sorry, Ms. Hill and I decided we could be a lot more useful if we didn’t have to keep playing phone tag whenever someone got sent a file.”

“Ok. Did you get sent a file?” Steve asked.

“Well, yes and no. A few days ago, ARGUS files relating to an unapproved task force were released. Waller was taking criminals out of prison and using them as her personal special ops team, which she didn’t have approval for. Shortly after the crisis in Starling City ended, she was detained for questioning. They have a short list to replace her. Hopefully, the person they pick isn’t so…” Coulson trailed off.

“Completely unethical and borderline evil?” Hill suggested.

“Exactly. There were…. mentions of the Winter Soldier in some of the more recent files. No confirmed sightings, but they were looking for him. Probably for her illegal task force.”

“And that’s why you’re here.”

“That's why we came, we stayed for another reason. At approximately 3am, SHIELD received an old HYDRA file. It contained, among other things, mission reports and briefings covering 2008 to 2012. Quite a few mention Sergeant Barnes.” Coulson explained.

“Oh, and its from our mysterious hacker friend.” Stark added. “Who left a note this time.”

“There’s a note?”

“Yeah, it says ‘Since you have been using the information I sent you, I guess I can trust you a little bit more. With Waller no longer running ARGUS, certain files are safer to release. Maybe Captain Rogers will find this useful.’ As expected, the linguistics don’t give a whole lot away so we still can’t ID the sender.” One of the SHIELD agents read off of the screen.

“There can’t be that many people who could hack SHIELD, Stark Tower and possibly ARGUS and leave no trace.” Steve said.

“By my math, there are about four. Only one is in this room.” A young Asian woman at one of the computers said.

“Skye?” Coulson asked. “Explain please.” The entire room froze and turned its attention to her.

“Well, Mr. Stark or Dr. Banner probably- “

“Not that. Who are the others?”

“There are one or two people I ‘met’ during my Rising Tide days who could pull it off. Most of them don’t have the skill level to do this. There’s also this hacker, goes by the name Ghost Fox Goddess, she’s kinda a legend, hacked the Pentagon and sent the Joint Chiefs a screenshot of it in the middle of a top-secret meeting. She could definitely do this. This is Mensa level good.” Coulson, Steve, and most of the SHIELD agents looked confused so she explained further. “He or she isn’t just breaking in, uploading files and disappearing.  They’re making themselves impossible to find.”

“It can’t be impossible to find them.” Tony scoffed. “Anything on the internet can be tracked back to a point of origin.”  

“Yeah, a point of origin we can’t find. This person isn’t just using a proxy server or a non-configured DNS. The signal is bouncing off satellites, its being crisscrossed through countries and ricocheting off like every cell tower along the way. And the path it takes changes with every new file. By the time we trace it, they could be in another country.” Skye said. “I don’t know if I want to punch this person or buy them a drink.”

“SI needs to hire this guy.” Hill said distractedly.

“Ok, so we can’t find the source. What did the files say?” Steve asked. As long as the information panned out, Steve could live with the mystery regarding the source for now.

“With the exception of early 2009, nothing useful.” Natasha said. “They woke him up in late 2008. January 2009 was the hit on the nuclear engineer in Iran I told you about. February 2009, he was sent to Boston. Between February and April of 2009, HYDRA had no idea where he was. One note in the file says he went dark; another claims he escaped. Either way, in April he returned and was put in cryosleep and sent back to Russia.”

“Which do you think is more likely, he escaped or went dark?” Steve asked. If anyone knew firsthand about breaking conditioning, it was Natasha.

“I honestly can’t answer that. It wouldn’t make sense for him to go dark for that long. On the other hand, if he escaped, why would he go back?” 

* * *

 

**Starling City**

In the morning, Felicity practically skipped into the kitchen to make breakfast. Bucky was already awake, glaring at the empty coffee pot.

“I don’t know how to operate this.” Felicity rolled her eyes, leaned over and flicked the switch on the front of the machine.

“Pancakes or bacon and eggs?” Felicity asked.

“What?”

“Breakfast. Do you want pancakes or bacon and eggs?” Felicity clarified.

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Yes it does. Which one do you want?”

“Umm…..bacon and eggs?” Bucky answered. He wasn’t used to having choices, about almost anything, so he was worried he’d chosen wrong.

“Sounds good to me.” Felicity said before grabbing the ingredients from the fridge. “How did you sleep?”

“Fine. It was nice not having to sleep on the floor.”

“Well, give me a few hours and you’ll be able to sleep in an actual bed tonight.”

“That’s not….you don’t have to do that.” Bucky said.

“I want to.” Felicity gave him a sad smile before turning back to her bacon. They ate breakfast in relative silence before Bucky’s curiosity became too much.

“I have….I remember things from…earlier. When you lived in the other place. Some of them came to me yesterday after I found you, and I don’t know if they’re real or not. I never know if anything I remember is real.”

Felicity put her fork down. “Well, what do you remember?”

“I don’t remember ever single detail, but I remember pieces. You didn’t push me to talk about my past. You made me feel….normal even when nothing made any sense. You…..I didn’t feel so alone or scared around you. I….were we…..did I…..I think I’m in love with you.” Bucky struggled to say before blurting it out.

Felicity chuckled. “Well, that certainly was real. We….had feelings for each other, but you were afraid they’d find you, so we never really explored those feelings. Then, you had to leave. And I think I’m in love with you too.”

“Good.” Bucky said before walking over to her, holding her face between his hands, and kissing her. A buzzing noise on the counter a few seconds later made them break apart. Bucky tensed and pushed Felicity behind him. He looked around the room cautiously as the sound continued.

“James.” Felicity said softly but he didn’t react, so she tried a little louder. “Hey, it’s my phone. Someone’s calling me ok?”

She slowly stepped around him to grab the device in question. He relaxed slightly and started to look a little sheepish. “I…I’m sorry, its just-I’m sorry if I freaked you out.“

“It’s ok, you’re still, recovering I guess is the word that fits the best. Anyway, it takes time and we’re both all right, right?” he nodded and she answered the phone.

“Hello?.....Oh you are?......I guess I can be there in like ten minutes….ok see you then.” She then hung up the phone and turned to face Bucky. “Nyssa’s leaving today and I kinda need to go say goodbye. Will you be okay here by yourself until then?”

“Felicity, I’m an assassin with amnesia and a metal arm, I’m not four years old. I’ll be fine.” Bucky said, even though he was nervous letting her out of his sights. Felicity laughed in response and went to get ready.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think we all know who's gonna be Waller's replacement.
> 
> Question: who should Steve be with in this story? Oliver? Should Thea and Roy get back together?


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slade's fate is revealed, Felicity has a confession to make and Bucky drops some truth bombs.

**Felicity’s house**

The house was so quiet when she returned that Felicity feared James had left. Her errand to say goodbye to Nyssa got out of hand when she ran into Detective Lance, who needed to interview her to ‘cross some t’s and dot some i’s about the attack’. What should have been a fifteen minute trip turned into over two hours of retelling the story to Lance, two other officers and someone from the DA’s office.  Her worries were squashed when she heard a low ‘click’ coming from her living room right after the door closed. Remembering Bucky’s earlier reaction, she decided calling out might be a good idea.

“Hey, I’m back. Nyssa says bye and I totally owe her sister a huge favor, and I can’t decide if that should worry me or not.” She didn’t receive a response but walked towards the living room anyway. She entered to find Oliver sitting on the couch in silence, while James was otherwise occupied.

“Are you seriously cleaning your sniper rifle in the middle of the living room?”

“I had to do it somewhere.” He answered shrugging. _I’m also trying to intimidate your archer friend who I’m still angry at._ “When weapons aren’t serviced properly they don’t function. If they don’t function, they have no purpose.” _Wow, I guess I’m feeling philosophical today. Let’s just ignore how that comment could also mean me._

“Uh huh.” Felicity said seeing through him. “Why are you here Oliver?”

“Oliver and I were just having a talk. He wanted to clear the air since last night was stressful for everyone.” Bucky said.

“Oh, ok. How’d it go with Thea?”

“Not well, she’s pissed but she decided to stay.”’ Oliver answered. “She might call you later to ask you some stuff.”

“Oh, well that’s good I guess.”

* * *

 

**Felicity’s house-An hour or so earlier**

Ten minutes after Felicity left, there was a knock on the door. Bucky checked to make sure he had a few weapons on him before going to investigate. Looking through the peephole, he saw Oliver standing on the doorstep. Bucky sighed and opened the door.

“Felicity isn’t here.”

Oliver stepped inside. “Where is she?”

“Had to say goodbye to that brunette woman from last night, Nyssa.” He answered closing the door. Oliver was looking at him in a calculating manner. Bucky wasn’t worried though; anything Oliver threw at him, he could outmaneuver. Bucky had 50 years of fighting experience, Oliver had 6. He waltzed back to the living room and pulled a few of his weapons out, leaving them outside of Oliver’s reach as a precaution anyway.

“I need to talk to her about what happened last night. Especially where you were involved.” The archers voice got an angry edge to it at the end. Bucky remembered reading how the Arrow stopped killing. He probably didn’t take Bucky’s actions too well.

“Let me guess, this is either about the people I killed or that guy I beat to a pulp.”

“You didn’t beat him up, you put him in a coma.”

“He shouldn’t have threatened my girl.” Bucky stated, taking apart one of his guns.

“Your girl? You need to stay away from her.”

“That’s not gonna happen. Until she wants me gone, I’m not going anywhere.” Bucky said setting the different parts down and pulling out his gun oil.

“Why? Because you tricked her into thinking she’s important to you even though-”

“You really don’t want to finish that sentence.” The former assassin said dangerously. “Don’t insult Felicity’s intelligence by assuming I could trick her into anything. Don’t assume you know anything about me just because John Diggle read a file. I’d also appreciate it if you stopped projecting your own issues onto me, I have enough to begin with.”

“What do you mean ‘my issues’?”

James scoffed. “You’re kidding right? I’ve seen the way you look at her. You’re in love with and, for whatever reason, decided you can’t be with her. Probably kept pushing her away too.”

Oliver balked and rushed to explain. “I live a dangerous life, if I got involved with her, she could have gotten hurt.”

“She got hurt anyway. And she lives a dangerous life too if you hadn’t noticed.” Bucky responded. “And that’s the real reason you’re being so combative right now.”

“What do you mean?”

“My life is a lot more dangerous than yours and yet I wasn’t the one constantly pushing her away. You wanted to be with Felicity but you gave up and refused to fight for her. I didn’t. You’re not allowed to throw her feeling back in her face and then get angry that she’s moved on.” Bucky said putting the weapon back together. “I suggest we sit in silence until she comes back.”

* * *

 

**Felicity’s house-Present**

After Oliver explained how things went with Thea, an awkward silence engulfed the room. Finally, the tension became too much and Oliver stood.

“Well, I just wanted to make sure you were ok. We didn’t really get much of a chance to talk one-on-one after Slade was taken care of. I gotta go, I promised Thea a better explanation at dinner tonight.”

Felicity got a calculating look on her face before she smiled. “Oh, well have fun and tell her I say hi.”

He gave a small smile, nodded once to Bucky and let himself out.

“If I’m not mistaken, you and I have some….unfinished business from this morning.” Felicity said suggestively.

“Ain’t that the truth.” Bucky said, putting the rifle he was cleaning back together and stowing most of his weapons away. “And thank you.”

“For what?” she asked confused.

“I’m almost 100% certain that you were the one who got that ARGUS woman arrested. Call it instinct, but something about how you explained it sounded….like you were there.”

Felicity sighed and sat down. “Yeah, it was me. I wasn’t gonna let Waller get her hands on you, you’ve been through enough as it is. I’ve also been releasing names of Hydra members every few days since DC. Even though I didn’t know you were alive or here, it just….seemed like the right thing to do.”

"Are you....is that safe to do? What if they figure out who you are? I don't want them to come after you because of me." Bucky said.

"I've been using several different methods to hide the point of origin each time. It would take them months, if not years, to figure out where they're being sent from."


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity has a suggestion, Steve gets some perspective, and Bucky gets a hobby

**Starling**

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Bucky told Felicity heatedly.

“Well, you need to. It doesn’t have to be me, but you can’t just ignore it. It’s not healthy.”

A few minutes earlier, Felicity’s oven had beeped. Bucky panicked at the noise and thought there was a bomb about to go off. He grabbed her and pushed her onto the ground, covering her body with his. When nothing happened, and the beeping continued, Felicity stood up and was a little agitated. This wasn’t the first time an unknown noise sent him into hypervigilance mode and she was worried it was getting worse. The blonde wanted James to see a therapist. He wasn’t receptive to the idea, every doctor he remembered caused him pain.

“Well, I’m sorry that I don’t want to talk about the years of torture I went through. I’m sorry I can’t just let all of that go.”

Felicity took a deep breath before speaking. “I didn’t say to let it go, I said you need to talk about it. Or find some other way to make yourself feel safe. You spend every second you’re awake on edge and waiting to be attacked. Do you really want to live like that?”

“’I don’t know how to live any other way.”

“That’s why you have to work at it. You’re the one who seems to think anyone expects it to be easy. Recovery, which is what you’re trying to do, is a process. You get there slowly.”

It was silent for a moment. “I can’t see a therapist. Therapy didn’t mean talking at Hydra, it meant….something else.”

Felicity’s eyes widened. “Oh crap. So me suggesting it wasn’t exactly the best idea.” Bucky nodded. “Have you considered a hobby of some kind? Something to do when you start to get stressed, to take your mind off of things.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know.  Knitting, drawing, cooking, building model airplanes. Just something non-violent.”

He was silent for a moment. He recalled a few memories of Small-Steve. He liked drawing, and was very good at it. Bucky didn’t remember having hobbies back then, just looking after Steve. He wondered what they might have been. “I think…..before everything I liked cooking, or I liked food, I remember that much.”

“Ok, well I’ve got a shelf full of cookbooks that are just gathering dust. Take a look.” Felicity pointed to a bookcase in the kitchen.

* * *

 

**New York**

“Is that him? Bucky?” Skye asked as she walked up behind Steve. He had taken out his sketchbook for the first time in months earlier that day. He hadn’t meant to draw Bucky, but his hands found themselves doing it anyway.

“Yeah, from before.” Steve said sadly. “Back when I was a skinny punk and he kept having to bail me out of trouble. I never should of asked him to join the Commandos.”

“Yeah, because the guy who spent his whole life getting you out of trouble was just gonna say ‘no’ when you asked him to join your team. That’s kinda insulting.”

“’How?”

“It insults him by suggesting he wasn’t capable of making his own decisions. He chose to join the unit, he chose to go on that mission with you. Whether you like it or not, he thought it was worth it.”

“You know, Peggy said the same thing to me. After he fell off that train.”

“Well, she was a smart and awesome lady from what I’ve read. She was probably right.” Skye said.

“Peggy was definitely right.” Steve said. He then remembered that Skye was a SHIELD agent, who was currently at work and probably didn't come down to his floor to talk about his best friend. “Was there something you needed to talk to me about?”

“Nah, not really. Our ‘Hydra members we’ve caught’ count reached 50 earlier today and Coulson thought that might make you feel better.”

“50?”

“Yeah, some people in that last group we arrested thought if they named names it would somehow help them. It didn’t. Anyway, Stark is upstairs throwing a party as a result and told me to tell you.”

“No, I think I’ll stay here.”

Skye looked around for a moment. “Yeah, that’s not happening. Get up before I pull out the big guns.” She began to leave the room.

“What? Are you gonna send Tony down here himself?”

“He’s not the big guns. Romanoff is.” She said as she got onto the elevator. Steve sighed and put his sketchbook down. Skye had a point.

* * *

 

**Starling**

When Felicity returned home from meeting Sara, she was met by a very pleasant aroma. Following the smell, she found Bucky in the kitchen, pulling a tray out of the oven. Suggesting Bucky take up a hobby was paying off, he was slowly starting to feel less on edge. He’d even gone out with Felicity during the day a few times just because. She’d introduced him to the wonderful place that was Jitters and the ambrosia also known as a mocha latte. He didn’t feel like he needed to be trapped inside all the time, but unlike in Virginia, wasn’t completely letting his guard down.

“That smells…..really, really good.” She said walking in and giving him a peck on the cheek.

He put the tray down on the counter and turned to face her. “I was going through your cookbook and came across a recipe for triple chocolate chip cookies. I had to at least try it.”

“I don’t suppose you need a taste-tester?” Felicity asked cheekily.

“As a matter of fact, I do if you’re volunteering.”

“I am.” Felicity said grabbing one of the cookies off of the tray. She brought it up to her mouth before pausing for a moment. “This doesn’t have nuts, right?”

“No, no nuts. Why?”

“I’m deathly allergic to nuts.”

“That is very good to know.” _It’s a good thing you told me, I had peanut butter brownies on my list of things to try. Oh my god, I could have killed you._ “How’s Sara and the others?” He needed Felicity to start babbling or something before he started having a full-blown panic attack.

Several times over the last two months, Felicity had taken a few hours off to hang out with Sara. Most of the time, they wound up at Sara’s apartment sparring. They started doing this shortly after the Clock King situation; Sara had promised not to tell Oliver Felicity’s secret and the blonde hacker needed to keep her skills up-to-date.  Over the years, when time allowed, Felicity had learned different forms of self-defense from Nyssa and Talia, but she had gotten a little rusty. Sara was a good sparring partner. Oliver would have flat out refused, Roy couldn’t control his strength until recently and she knew Digg would go too easy on her.

Today, however, Sara and Felicity didn’t do any sparring. They met up with Laurel and Thea for lunch. The meal was awkward on so many levels, but overall the ladies had a nice time. “They’re good. Lunch was awkward but good. Thea’s still angry at her brother, but seems to be excited to get to know everyone better. Laurel’s doing well.”

“Well then, why was lunch awkward?”

“I don’t really know Thea or Laurel and they don’t really know me. We’re in this awkward ‘I want to be friends but we’re not friends yet’ limbo.” Felicity explained.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to take a chapter where nothing really plot related happened.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SHIELD continues to look for Bucky and hunt Hydra, ARGUS gets involved, Felicity makes a decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've decided two things:  
> 1) Wanda and Pietro's origin story isn't going to follow comics canon or AoU but contain elements from both  
> 2) I'm going to speed some stuff up so that Arrowverse events happen closer together

**Starling**

The last week had been equally exciting and frustrating for Felicity. On the one hand, her relationship with James was progressing, she’d begun to get more clients for her business and criminals seemed to be on vacation. On the other, Oliver was still giving her the cold shoulder, she kept ending up in the middle of Queen family drama, and Bucky had had a bad few days. At least Sara was helping her work off her frustrations.

Bucky had gotten nightmares for most of the last week. Felicity couldn’t really do anything without making it worse other than wait it out. He had some sort of flashback-like episode when her neighbor’s car alarm went off one afternoon. In addition, when she mentioned taking a look at his arm, a few of the plates looked misshapen, he completely shut down and refused to move or speak. Felicity wanted to help him, but she didn’t know how. Baking was a good distraction for him, but it wasn’t always the solution, nor would it cure him.

Bucky was sitting on the couch, trying to find something non-triggering on TV when Felicity came into the room holding something. He turned and saw it was a notebook of some kind and tensed. Notebooks meant codewords, and orders, and a lot of probably nice people getting hurt. She sat down next to him and flipped through the pages, he could see that they were blank and relaxed slightly. She then handed it to him.

“I did some research on dealing with trauma and I think this might help.”

“Help with what?”

“You’ve been through a lot, and I know you don’t like talking about it, I don’t blame you. But you do need to get some of it out. So write it down. Things you remember, nightmares you have, whatever you need to.”

Bucky took the journal but didn’t say anything for a few moments. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”

"You broke into my house and listened to me babble." Felicity slowly leaned over and kissed him on the lips. She went to pull away, but Bucky kept her in place and deepened the kiss. About a minute later, they broke apart. "Now, I think the next movie on the list was Hercules.” Felicity had compiled a list of movies he hadn’t seen that she thought wouldn’t trigger him. They’d been slowly working their way through the list ever since.

“When are you leaving?” Bucky asked about an hour into the movie.

Yesterday, Felicity mentioned that she needed to go to New York to deal with something in person. After some questioning on Bucky’s part, she admitted that she was thought it was time for Steve to know he was okay at the very least. She reasoned that it was only a matter of time before SHIELD, and therefore the Avengers, discovered Bucky had been in Starling during the Slade Wilson incident and came here looking. Stopping that search before it started was the best idea for everyone. Mostly Bucky who wasn’t quite ready to see Steve.

“Tomorrow morning.” She said. “Gives me a few days to get there by train.” Train stations didn’t have as much surveillance as airports, which she knew would make Bucky less paranoid about someone following her. She also didn’t really like flying, and there was no way she wanted to drive all the way to New York.

“I still don’t like this, it doesn’t feel right.” Bucky admitted. He didn’t trust SHIELD, given its entanglement with Hydra. He doubted every Hydra agent within SHIELD had been caught and was paranoid she was walking into a trap.

“I know, but maybe if Steve knows you’re alive and need some space, he’ll back off a little.”

“He won’t. Even when he weighed 90 pounds soaking wet he never backed off.” Bucky said smiling slightly. "It was like dealing with an angry chihuahua."

“Then I guess I might have to use my Loud Voice and make him.” 

* * *

 

**New York**

In the days following Amanda Waller’s arrest, things calmed down at Stark Tower considerably. Coulson and the other SHIELD agents relocated to a base in the Bronx two days after the newest files were leaked. According to Tony, Hill and Coulson still spoke at least once a day to keep the other, and their colleagues, up-to-date on any new information. The tower’s residents settled back to their relatively peaceful lives.

It was very surprising to Steve and Sam, who arrived a few days earlier for a visit, when they existed the elevator one morning to another small army of people bustling around the tower. The same SHIELD agents and SI employees as last time were there, along with three unknown people. Two men and a woman.

“You get another file or something?” Steve asked.

“Well, yes and no.” Coulson answered as the unknown woman walked up to the pair.

“Captain Rogers, my name is Lyla Michaels. I’m the new director of ARGUS.” The woman said extending her hand, which Steve took.  “I’d like to officially apologize to you on behalf of ARGUS for Amanda Waller’s actions towards you.”

“Thanks. Nice to meet you. What exactly is going on?”

“We got sent a file early this morning.” Coulson explained. “And, unlike previous times, ARGUS got sent the same file.”

“ARGUS didn’t get sent the other lists?” Steve asked.

“No. But it’s not surprising; Ghost Fox Goddess never liked Waller. She was….rather unpleasant.”

“Ghost Fox Goddess is our source?” Skye asked, a little excitedly.

“Yes she is. And that’s not all.” Lyla answered. She turned to Coulson. “Before I delve into details, any of your people without high-level clearance need to leave.”

Coulson nodded and dismissed most of his people. The Avengers, Hill, Pepper, Coulson, Skye and three other SHIELD agents, who introduced themselves as Fitz, Simmons and May, were soon the only people in the room. “I’m not here because of the files she sent you, I’m here because she’s gonna be here in about two days.”

“She is? Why now?” Steve asked. So far, other than the one note, nothing indicated their source had any interest in talking or making herself known. “I thought she wanted to be anonymous.”

“Well, when she started sending SHIELD intel, she did. Said she wasn’t doing it for herself but because quote ‘they’re a bunch of Nazi assholes and that's explanation enough’. But now, things are different and staying anonymous isn't ideal.” Lyla said. “She told me there’s some information she needed to tell you in person, Captain. It’s about Sergeant Barnes. She might know where he is.”

“The most recent sighting was in DC right after SHIELD fell.” Steve pointed out.

“It’s not ARGUS’s.” Lyla volunteered. “A few days after that, a contact saw him at a diner in Haymarket, Virginia. Waller mostly had me trying to figure out where he was while he was still under Hydra’s thumb.”

“Why?” Steve asked. He didn’t fully trust Lyla, but her apparent willingness to share information was a step in the right direction. "How would knowing where they held him help?"

“In case he went back.” Natasha answered. “Even if he chose not to go back to Hydra, he could have remembered a safehouse or something and went there. Knowing where he’s been could indicate where he might go. Or, he might remember a location and decide to get a little payback. Either way, the logic is sound.”


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thea and Roy talk, Bucky's kinda made a friend, and the Avengers meet someone they've been curios about. First impressions are definitely not correct.

**Starling-Thea Queen’s apartment**

Thea rolled her eyes as she walked over to open the door of her apartment. She’d moved in a few days after discovering her brother was the Arrow, and so far, her only visitor had been Oliver trying to buy her forgiveness with increasingly expensive gifts. _Typical Ollie, thinking he can speed forgiveness along._

“For the last time, Ollie, I don’t need things, I need- Roy?” Thea said as she opened the door and saw Roy, not Oliver, standing there.

“Hey Thea.” Roy said awkwardly. “I, uh, I asked Oliver for your address. I owe you a huge explanation and apology and you deserve to hear it face-to-face.”

“Yeah, you do.” Thea said putting one hand on her hip. She still cared about Roy, but Oliver wasn’t the only person who lied to her. Her mother lied, Oliver lied, Roy lied and she could only get closure with the last two.

“I’m kinda not sure where to start….”

“The beginning usually works.”

Roy spent the next hour explaining everything that had happened from the Arrow rescuing him from Joseph Falk to becoming his informant to being injected with Mirakuru and discovering his identity. “I wanted to tell you the truth but-“

“Ollie convinced you not to, because he thought it was protecting me.”

“Yeah. I….I’m sorry, for everything. And I understand if you never want to see me again.”

The brunette rolled her eyes. “Why are you and Oliver so dramatic all the time? I’m mad you hid things from me. I’m mad everyone kept making decisions for me. That doesn’t mean I hate you or that I want you out of my life. I just….it’s gonna take some time before the trust between us gets rebuilt.” Thea said. “I still love you, I just….need some time to process.”

“Oh, ok. Call me when you’re ready?” Roy asked nervously. He didn’t want to push Thea but also wanted to assure her that he didn’t want to lose her. The brunette nodded and Roy left.

* * *

 

**Felicity’s house**

Bucky cautiously approached the door after he heard a knock. He stood on one side of the door, hoping whoever it was would leave. There was another knock, and someone called out.

“Barnes, its Sara. Open the door.” A side effect of Sara spending so much time with Felicity was that she also spent a lot of time with Bucky. When Felicity introduced them, he asked her to call him by his last name. ‘James’ only felt right coming from Felicity and he didn’t quite feel like ‘Bucky’ fit yet. Now that he knew who was there, he opened the door. The blonde waltzed right past him and into the house.

“Felicity left for New York the day before yesterday.” Bucky said in lieu of a greeting. She had texted when her train arrived at Grand Central this morning. She said there was one thing she needed to do before heading to see the Avengers.

“I know, why do you think I’m here? We can hang out without Felicity you know.”

Bucky sighed. He suspected why Sara was here. “She asked you to check on me, didn’t she?”

“Nope.” The blonde said popping the p. “I just wanted to get out of an awkward family dinner. My mother has a tendency to ask questions she really doesn’t want the answer to. So, get dressed and let’s go.” Sara knew her mother was trying to be helpful and supportive, but her need to know everything tended to make things worse.

“Where are we going?” Bucky asked.

“There’s a hole-in-the-wall Thai place I’ve been wanting to try since I got back. I can’t go there with Felicity because one, she doesn’t handle spicy food well and two, Thai food has a lot of nuts and I don't want to risk her accidentally having a reaction. So, I figured you and I could go. It beats moping around here.”

“Fine.” Bucky said standing up.

While he was initially wary of Sara, she was a former assassin after all and therefore a threat, over the last two weeks he’d slowly gotten more comfortable around her.  The fact that she cared enough about Felicity to give him the ‘if you hurt Felicity, I will end you’ speech was definitely a point in her favor. He wasn’t ready to call her his friend, but they were slowly getting there. Nyssa still made him super nervous though.

“Why does it look like a bakery exploded in your kitchen?” Sara asked as she looked around.

“Felicity decided I needed a non-violent hobby. Apparently sharpening knives every time I get stressed is an ‘unhealthy coping mechanism’. So I started baking.” Bucky deadpanned.

* * *

 

**New York**

As time wore on, Steve got more and more anxious about Felicity’s arrival. His restlessness appeared to be contagious, because by the early afternoon two days after Lyla arrived, everyone on the top floor of Stark Tower except Lyla, Natasha and May were noticeably fidgeting.

“Have you heard from her?” Steve asked for probably the 17th time that day.

“She’s in the city, said she had one thing to do before coming here.” Lyla answered.

“What if she backed out?”

“I didn’t.” a female came over the PA and said.

“Stop hacking JARVIS!”

“Wait, I thought you were actually gonna come here in person.” Fitz said.

“I will not stop hacking him, its way too fun. I am gonna be there in person, unknown Scottish man. I just….need a few reassurances first.”

“Reassurances?” Hill asked.

“Well, right now, none of you have seen me. I’m not in the building. I could leave New York and you’d have no way to track me down. Well, Director Michaels could, she knows who I am, but she won’t because reasons. I just need to know two things.”

“What are they?”

“I need to make sure I didn’t eliminate one problem only to create another. It would be very stupid of me if I got Amanda Waller arrested only for you guys to want the same thing she did. What is the Avengers interest in finding Sergeant Barnes?”

“Capsicle wants to find his not-so-dead best friend, we want to find him so Cap won’t be so grumpy.”

“Ok, and what is SHIELD’s interest in him?”

“We have none.” Coulson answered. “Any intel on Hydra he could provide would be helpful but not necessary.”

“Then why are you looking for him?” She pressed.

“As a favor to Captain Rogers.”

“So, you don’t want to arrest him or anything?” The woman sounded shocked.

“DOJ looked into the files that were leaked by Natasha Romanoff. There was enough evidence to show that Barnes wasn’t acting of his own free will. They won’t prosecute him because they’re afraid he’d turn around and sue the US government. He’s still a grey area, but no one’s looking to arrest him.”

“Lyla?”

“It’s true. They decided to quote ‘focus on the people who are actually guilty’. It's why Waller wanted him, easier to make Barnes disappear if no one's looking for him.”

“Ok, I’ll see you soon.” The speaker cut off.

“JARVIS, monitor every entrance to the building. Notify us when she gets here.” Tony ordered.

“Of course, sir.”

Lyla, who was off in the corner, rolled her eyes. They’d know Felicity was there when she wanted them to, not a second before.

 

Everyone waited in complete silence. Their search was almost over and the tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Five minutes after hanging up, they heard the elevator ding a few floors below them.

“JARVIS?”

“Sir, my monitoring of the building shows no elevators higher than the 40th floor.” They were on the 65th floor. Everyone tensed slightly when the doors opened.

“I’m sorry, I just couldn’t resist.” A short, blonde woman with glasses, a light blue peplum dress and five-inch heels said as she exited. As soon as she entered, Felicity was glad she wore her ‘I’m the boss’ heels. They gave her the necessary confidence she was going to need. _Seriously, is it a rule or something that in order to be a spy or a superhero or whatever you have to be over a certain height. We can’t all be Amazons! Some of us are only 5’5”_

“You’re Ghost Fox Goddess?” Skye asked. When she pictured her hacker hero, she didn’t picture Felicity.

“Yup, my friends call me Felicity though. I came up with the name Ghost Fox Goddess during my goth phase which is why it seems so….” The blonde trailed off.

“Felicity Smoak?” Tony said. “Of course! How did I miss-“ The inventor then trailed off mumbling.

Almost everyone else was confused. The woman in front of them looked more like someone’s secretary or a typical office worker than a hacker who could infiltrate SHIELD, the CIA, Stark Industries and ARGUS, sometimes concurrently. Her lack of a brain-to-mouth filter also threw them off. Steve and Natasha could both see that Felicity was the hacker they’d been dealing with. Natasha learned a long time ago that appearances could be deceiving, and Felicity had a ‘go ahead and underestimate me, you’ll regret it’ vibe similar to the one Peggy used to exude.

“Umm….want to fill the rest of us in, Stark?” Clint asked.

“Stark Industries tried to recruit me right after I graduated MIT, I turned them down. Needed to figure some stuff out.” Felicity explained. “Anyway, I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess you guys have questions.”

“You could say that.”

“How about I explain a few things and whatever questions you have after I’ll answer. Before you ask, most of what I’m about to say involves Barnes.” Steve nodded, followed by everyone else. “Ok, you guys are gonna want to sit down because it’s kinda a long story.” Everyone complied. “I don’t quite know where to start explaining, I guess 2009 would be the best place.”

“2009? That’s-” Steve asked.

“The year he went missing for two months. When I met Sergeant Barnes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the kinda cliffhanger. What do you think? Will Felicity tell Steve everything or just the highlights? How much does Steve actually want to hear? How will SHIELD and the Avengers react?


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone hears Felicity's (very edited) story, people have questions, and the Loud Voice makes an appearance.

“2009? That’s-” Steve asked.

“The year he went missing for two months. When I met Sergeant Barnes.”

“You met him in 2009?”

“Yeah. In February of 2009, Hydra brought him to Boston to kill a man named Dr. William Saner. I don’t know exactly what happened or why, but his conditioning broke and he was able to escape from the team Hydra sent with him. He somehow ended up Cambridge. I came home from class one day to find a man in full tactical gear and a metal arm standing in my kitchen. He didn’t know who he was, but he knew he couldn’t go back. Something about the situation made me want to help him. I kept him off everyone’s radar for two months.”

“So he didn’t go dark.” Steve said. “Then why did he go back to Hydra?”

“Hydra found him. He, uh, the last member of his team came looking for him when Dr. Saner was killed but the Winter Soldier didn’t return to their hideout. He realized the only way anyone who helped him hide could be safe was if he went back. I tried, and failed, to talk him out of it.  That was the last time I saw him before Starling City.”  _Well, except Moscow, but you don't really need to know about that. All you need to know is how I met him and what happened in Starling._

“If Barnes didn’t kill Saner, then who did?” May asked.

“No one knows for sure."  _Well, I do but that's League business and Dr. Saner's death is a minor detail in the grand scheme of things. Plus. Rule No. 1 of the League of Assassins is you don't talk about the League of Assassins. I'm pretty sure that's where Fight Club got it from._  "He took credit for the kill but how Saner died didn’t really match up with Winter Soldier’s MO. There’s a theory that someone did it to buy him time to disappear. Where was I?”  _That's exactly why Nyssa did it, but again, you don't need to know that._

“You saw Bucky in Starling City.” Steve supplied.

“Yeah, you could say that.” She held up a flash drive. “JARVIS, could you scan this drive and play the audio file?”

“Certainly.”

“He got to Starling right before Slade Wilson and his army of psychos tried to tear the city apart.” Felicity said right before the file began to play.

“You must have quite a bit of faith in this cure if you’ve come alone.” Slade Wilson’s voice could be heard saying.

“What is this?” Coulson asked and the track stopped.

“As you know, the Arrow-“

“You mean Oliver Queen.” Natasha said struggling not to roll her eyes. "Barton and I worked that out last year."

 “Oh, thank god, I was worried about blurting that out at some point.” Felicity said relieved.

“It’s his communication feed from the night of the siege.” Lyla answered Coulson’s question before turning to Felicity. “you recorded this?”

“You’ll see why.”

“We didn’t come alone.” Oliver answered and glass could be heard breaking followed by fighting sounds. A minute or two later, a whooshing sound followed by a thump was heard. “What was that?”

A female voice could be heard, but it was too soft for anyone to make the words out. Nyssa knew that if Bucky was listening in, it was possible someone else was too. That’s why she didn’t keep the communicator Sara had handed her and spoke softly during the incident. A few seconds after she stopped talking, another voice spoke.

“Sorry about the blood. In fairness, a year ago I would have just shot through you, so I guess that’s progress. You’re welcome by the way.”

“That’s Bucky.” Steve said. “That’s….that’s definitely him. What was he talking about?”

“He shot one of the people they were fighting from the building across the street.” Felicity admitted. “I don’t know how much longer he was listening in, but I know he heard this part. JARVIS, skip to around 45 minutes later.”

“Of course.” The tape began playing again.

“It’s over Slade. Your army is broken.”

“And I pity them, but once again, you miss the point. I have the one you love. You’re going to meet me where I say otherwise I will kill her.”

“You do what you have to, I’m done playing your games.”

“You’re done when I say you’re done! I was surprised, I thought you had a thing for stronger women. But now that I’ve met her, I can see the appeal. She is quite lovely, your Felicity.” The audio cut out.

“Obviously, Barnes heard that and didn’t like it.”

“Why would someone threatening you anger him?” Steve asked, very confused.

“Because he had started to remember some things. He only had positive memories of about three people and I was one of them.” Felicity admitted. “Anyways, he found where Slade was and came to ‘rescue me’. Wilson was expecting Oliver, so when Bucky turned the corner, Slade was kinda in shock which allowed me to get out of his grasp. Bucky tackled him and punched Slade in the face, multiple times, with his metal arm.”

“So that’s how he wound up in a coma.” Lyla said in realization.

“Buck put that guy in a coma?”

“Yeah, when Slade was clearly knocked out, I convinced Bucky to stop punching him and then I gave Slade the Mirakuru cure.”

“I’m sorry, what’s Mirakuru?” Dr. Banner asked.

“Japanese World War II experiment. Everyone wanted to create super soldiers. The Mirakuru test subjects who survived had increased strength and stamina and what not, nowhere near his level though.” Felicity said pointing to Steve. “It also had a lot of side effects. Bleeding from the eyes, mental instability, hallucinations. Slade was hallucinating the dead love of his life who told him to attack Starling. Anyway, I cured Slade, Bucky punched Oliver and everyone went home. That’s pretty much everything you need to know.”

“Your…friendship with Sergeant Barnes, that’s why you began sending us files, isn’t it?” Coulson asked.

“Yes. I could only find information, I couldn’t really act on it, so I sent it to the people that could. It made me feel like I was doing something to help. Not much any of them can do from a prison cell. I also really hate Nazis, but I feel like that doesn’t need an explanation.”

“Do you know where Bucky is now?” Steve asked.

“Yes, I do. And no, I won’t tell you.” Felicity answered.  _Cue Star-Spangled argument in 3, 2,1._

For the first time since she arrived, Steve had an expression other than confusion on his face. He looked angry. “What? Why not?”

“Because he’s not ready to see you. He remembers you and he knows you’re looking for him, but he’s just not ready.” Felicity admitted. “I know its tough, but this is what he wants right now and I’m not going to take another choice away from him.” 

“So, you came all this way only to not tell me where he is.”

“No, I came all this way in the hopes of explaining to you why its better for everyone if you back off a little bit.” Felicity was beginning to get annoyed.  _He doesn't know if the order to kill you is still buried in his brain. He's afraid he'll try to hurt you. He's afraid you'll reject him._

“Back off? That’s not gonna happen. I want to see him.”

“It’s not about what YOU want!” Felicity said using her Loud Voice. “This might come as a shock to you Captain, but this isn’t actually about you. It’s about James. If you think what you want matters to me at all right now, you need to take a second and pull your head out of your ass.”  _I promised him I wouldn't tell you where he is. I owe it to him to keep that promise, I owe you exactly nothing._

Everyone else jumped at her outburst. Felicity looked sweet and innocent, and when she was telling her story, that impression seemed to be true. All signs pointed to her being a pushover. Too bad no one in the room, including Lyla, really knew her or the lengths she was willing to go to when she thought it was worth it. Felicity was nice to most people, and generally willing to compromise, until the compromise involved someone or something she cared deeply about or made a promise to. When that happened, Felicity embodied the definition of 'stubborn'. It was a trait she'd developed very early in life.  

“Hey now-“ Coulson started to say.

“I’m not done. You’ve had to come to terms with him being alive. He’s had to come to terms with what Hydra did to him and what they made him do and recovering decades of missing memories. I’m sorry that he isn’t ready and that I’m not giving you the answers you want. But the LAST THING he needs is someone trying to force him into doing something for their own benefit. Seeing him will make you feel better but you aren’t thinking about what that might do to him.” Felicity took a deep breath. “The only person who gets to decide who Bucky sees is Bucky.Don’t for a single second think that, just because you're Captain America, it doesn't apply to you. I told you he was alive and that he was safe as a courtesy. I don't owe you anything else, and neither does Bucky. Do we have an understanding?”

“Ok, but-“

“Do we have an understanding?”

“Yes.” He answered reluctantly. It was silent for several minutes. “How….how is he doing?” He may not like Felicity’s reasons, or that she yelled at him, but he could understand them.

“Better than he was. It’s a one-day-at-a-time situation. He’s working on it.” Felicity answered. For a second, she thought she might have been too harsh with Steve, so she decided to offer a small olive branch. “I can ask him if he’s willing to talk to you.”

“Really?” Steve inquired.

“I told him I was coming here to tell you about what happened. I thought it wasn’t fair if I disclosed all of this to you without his permission. He refused to come with me since he’s not ready to see you. He didn’t say anything about a phone call. Do you think you’re up for it?”

“Of course. If he says no, and I write him a letter or something, can you make sure it gets to him?”

“Yeah.” Felicity stood up. “I’m gonna go into the stairwell and call him. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Steve nodded. Everyone turned to Lyla.

“How much of this did you know?”

“I knew Felicity knew Barnes. I knew she got rid of Waller so he wouldn’t be forced onto the Suicide Squad. I knew he was somehow involved in what happened in Starling. I didn’t know about Cambridge. She’s very tight-lipped about her that time in her life.” Lyla admitted.

In retrospect, Team Arrow didn't know a lot about Felicity. They knew her parents weren't together and that she went to MIT. The only things they knew about 2009 was that 1)she met the Winter Soldier and 2)met Nyssa shortly after. They didn’t know the connection between the two events, or about her agreement with the League of Assassins or what happened in Russia or really anything substantial before the day she met Oliver that she didn’t purposefully disclose.

“Do you know how she kept hacking us? Or blocking the signal.”

“Not really. I’m a spy, not a computer scientist.” Lyla also never asked so that she'd have plausible deniability.

Felicity came walking back into the room slightly happier. She pulled Steve aside.

“What did he say?” Steve asked.

“He said yes to talking to you. But, only for a few minutes.”

“Ok. Anything I should steer away from conversation wise?” the captain was worried about making his friend uncomfortable and prolonging his desire to avoid him. He also didn’t want to anger Felicity again. For someone that short, she could be terrifying.

“Don’t try to force him into remembering things. Look, just let him lead the conversation and don’t get upset if he suddenly feels like he needs to stop.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So now the story is out. And everyone thinks they know why Felicity has been helping them (spoiler alert: Bucky and her hatred of Nazis/Hydra aren't her only reasons...)


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky and Steve talk and Oliver gets a surprising phone call.

**New York**

Felicity and Steve retreated to Steve’s floor of Stark Tower to call Bucky. As the elevator got closer to their destination, Steve started to fidget more and more.

“Kinda surreal isn’t it?”

“What is?” Steve asked.

“Knowing he’s alive, the idea of talking with him. You’ve been looking for him for months and now that the chance to talk to him is real-“

“It’s hard to believe.” Steve finished. “Yeah, I just…I’m worried I’ll mess this up.”

“You won’t. Just….remeber you’re not the same person you were 70 years ago and neither is he.” Felicity said as they got off the elevator. She took a seat on Steve’s couch and pulled out her phone. “You ready?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” He sighed. She nodded and dialed.

“Hello?” a male voice on the other end said.

“Hey James.” Felicity said.

"Hi Felicity."

“Bucky…” Steve said.

“Hey Steve.”

“I’m gonna leave you two alone.” Felicity said standing up. “I’ll be upstairs with the others in case you need me.”

“Ok.” Both men said at once. Felicity got into the elevator and the door closed as she heard Steve ask, “How…..how are you?”

“I’m…alive and not stuck with those assholes anymore. Everything else is a work in progress.”

“Well, that’s- that’s good.” Steve struggled for something to say. “Felicity seems nice.”

“Yeah, she’s pretty great, and a badass.”

“Oh really?”

“I take it you didn’t try to argue with her-“

“Actually, I tried to. When she wouldn’t tell me where you were, I tried to push her into it. She yelled at me to get my head out of my ass.”

“So you heard her ‘Loud Voice’ as she calls it. Kinda reminds me of my ma’s angry voice.” Bucky said. “I’ve seen it put the fear of god into lesser men. When you also consider exactly how good she is with all that computer stuff, its kinda surprising fewer people realize it.”

“Well, she certainly made an impression on SHIELD. And Tony Stark.”

“They better realize it! Blondie is awesome” a female voice said from the other end of the phone.

“Who is that?” Steve asked.

“Friend of Felicity’s.” Bucky answered.

“Not just a friend, her best friend. Well, best friend on this continent. I’m also your friend too, or am I not cool enough to count?”

“Sara, why are you here?” Bucky asked confused.

“Because you made the mistake of telling me you had cheesecake. And cheesecake is my weakness.” Sara shot back. “I’m here to steal it, so you can go back to your awkward reunion phone call.”

“So just take it and leave.” Bucky didn't sound angry, more slightly annoyed, like the tone he used to have when Rebecca would pester him. It was a nice tone of voice to hear.

“I’m going, I’m going.” Sara said. "Adios Cap."

“Was that….normal?” Steve asked once Bucky assured him she was gone.

“For her, yeah.”

* * *

 

**Top floor Stark Tower**

About ten minutes after Felicity and Steve went downstairs, Felicity exited the elevator on the top floor.

“I thought Rogers and Barnes were catching up.” Hill said upon seeing her.

“They are. I wanted to give them some privacy. Plus, JARVIS agreed to notify me if I was needed downstairs.” Felicity answered.  “And I’m sorry, I kinda showed up and jumped right into explanations without getting to know all of your names. Felicity Smoak.”

“I’m Skye. That’s Leo Fitz, that’s Jemma Simmons, the man in the suit is Director Phil Coulson. This is Melinda May.” Skye said pointing to each person in turn.

“Nice to meet you all. Sorry I kept hacking into SHIELD, but you know, you gotta do what you gotta do.” Felicity said shrugging. “Plus, I like to think the world is slightly better for it.”

“You’re scary when you yell.” Fitz said.

“It's a gift, or a secret weapon, I haven't decided which yet. Either way, it keep the Arrow and Co in line.”

“So, what’s the pale imitation of me like?” Clint asked. Natasha elbowed him in the side. “What?”

“Green, oblivious and kinda grouchy. Very pessimistic, nice abs though.” Felicity answered honestly.

* * *

 

**Steve’s floor**

Bucky and Steve talked for a half hour or so. It turns out that Bucky didn’t remember much of World War II or right after his fall. But he did remember quite a bit about his childhood and growing up with Steve. While Steve still had a million questions he wanted answered, he was happy most of the memories he and Bucky shared were happy ones.

“I, uh, can you get Felicity please?” Bucky said out of nowhere when the pair was reminiscing about the time they rode the cyclone.

“Yeah. JARVIS?” Steve asked.

“I have alerted Miss Smoak.” The AI answered. A few moments later, Steve heard the tell-tale click-clack of heels before the door to the stairwell swung open.

“I’m here, I’m here. Everything ok?” the blonde asked.

“You were like 15 floors above me, how’d you get down here so fast?” Steve asked.

“I hurried, obviously. What’s wrong?” Actually, Felicity took off her heels and used some ‘vigilante parkour’ to get down the stairs faster.

“Buck, he-“

“I’m a grown-ass man Steve, I can speak for myself. I just, I don’t want to talk anymore. I’m fine, its just a little exhausting.”

“Oh, well ok. If you want to talk later, you have my number.” Felicity said before nudging Steve. He stared at her for a second before realizing what she wanted him to say.

“Yeah, it was good talking to you. I’m glad you’re doing ok.”

“You too. I….bye.” the call disconnected.

* * *

 

**Starling City**

Oliver was taking his anger out on one of the training dummies. Roy and Digg hadn’t arrived yet, Sara was doing who knows what and Felicity wasn’t in town. As soon as he thought of Felicity, he got angry again. She lied to him, a lie by omission is still a lie. She lied and her ex-brainwashed assassin boyfriend knocked him out for almost no reason. He knew, and Felicity knew, going in that he needed to put her in slight danger in order to defeat Slade Wilson. Things were still tense between Felicity and Oliver, he kept pushing her away, he could admit that, but he was still hurt that she’d moved on.

The archer’s thoughts were interrupted when his phone rang. Not looking at the caller ID, he picked up. “Hello?”

“Oliver? It’s Barry Allen. I woke up….and I could use some advice.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know how I said I was going to speed things along in the Arrowverse? I meant waking Barry up early so that certain events on The Flash happened earlier.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara and Oliver have a chat, Steve deals with the aftermath of talking to Bucky, Felicity sees an old friend and we meet a pair of interesting people.

**Starling City**

After Sara had stolen, and finished, Bucky’s cheesecake, she headed towards the foundry. It had been a few days since she’d last seen the team or heard from Oliver. She found the archer in the lair, alone, beating up a training dummy.

“If you’re looking for Felicity, she’s not here.” Oliver said without looking away from the dummy. “Apparently she has some big, important thing to do in New York.”

“I’m not here to see her, I knew she was in New York.” Sara said. “I actually came to talk to you.”

“About what?”

“Not being such an ass to Felicity, she doesn’t deserve it.” She said crossing her arms.

“I’m not-“

“Ever since we stopped Slade you’ve either been ignoring her or taking your anger out on her, which isn’t fair.”

“She lied to us, Sara.”

“And? We’ve all lied to one another. You’re not angry that she lied.”

Oliver turned to face her at the comment. “Oh really? If that’s not why I’m angry, then why am I angry?”

“You’re not angry, you’re hurt. Hurt that she’s happy with Bucky and hurt that she moved on, even though you’re the one who made her feel like she had to. Your choices led to that happening.”

“I wanted her safe!”

“You told her you couldn’t be with someone you care about, and then started dating me. How do you think she’d see that? Whatever you might have thought, she saw it as you not returning her feelings. And that hurt her a lot, and yes, I played a part in her getting hurt, but at least I can admit it. I think that’s why she was willing to be friends with me.”

“What do you mean?” Oliver was confused.

“I liked her from the moment she didn’t treat me any differently after learning about the League, but I was hesitant to get close to someone new. Right after the Clock King, I went to talk to Felicity, she’d been acting a little weird lately, I’m not sure if you noticed. Somehow, the topic of you and I came up. She was hurt that we got together. She pushed those hurt feelings aside because we seemed to be happy. When I realized how much it had hurt her, I apologized and we slowly moved past it.” Sara explained. “Now, you need to do the same.”

“How do I even do that?”

“Start by telling yourself that you want your friend to happy. You can figure out the rest later.”

* * *

 

**New York**

When Felicity and Steve got off the elevator, everyone looked at them apprehensively. Felicity seemed to be in the same mood as earlier, but Steve seemed sadder. Natasha, and Sam who’d come upstairs a few minutes earlier, pulled Steve to the side, while Felicity approached Coulson and Hill asking to speak with them, as well as Tony and Pepper.

“So you got to talk to him?” Sam asked and Steve nodded.

“He, uh, Bucky’s not ready to see me.” Steve said. “Felicity knows exactly where he is, but she won’t tell me. Said it was his decision and she’s not gonna take any more choices away from him.”

“Good.” Sam said.

Steve did a doublet take. “How is that good? I’m his friend, I can help him.”

“Well, from what Natasha tells me, you tried to intimidate her into telling you and she shut your ass down.” Sam replied. “It’s good because it means he has someone willing to go to bat for him. We don’t know where he's at mentally right now, so knowing someone has his back is a good thing.”

“I’d have his back too-”

“And I’m sure they both know that.” Natasha interjected.

“We’re missing the important stuff.” Sam said. “You actually got to talk to him. How is he doing? How did he sound?”

“He’s…..he says he’s doing better and so does Felicity. He uh….he doesn’t remember the war at all or right after.”

“Not surprising. That time involved a lot of traumatic events, so it’s not unusual that he’d repress those memories.” Sam said, falling into his ‘VA counselor mode’. “Anything else?”

“Yeah, he uh, we mostly talked about our childhood, he remembers that much. He told me he started baking as a hobby, asked if I still draw. Stuff like that.” Steve answered. “He has friends, or at least one, her name is Sara.”

 

In another corner of the room, Felicity had pulled Coulson, Hill, Tony and Pepper aside. “Is something wrong, Miss Smoak?”

“No. It’s just….i didn’t come here just to tell Captain Rogers that Bucky is okay.  There was some information I needed to give you in person.” Felicity blurted out.

“Like what?” Maria asked.

“Evidence like what I’ve been sending you. The problem is, I don’t know what you do with the information I send you other than arrest people. For all I know, you send the lists to everyone in your respective organizations, which really isn’t good because-“

“What’s this about?” Coulson cut her off.

She pulled two manila folders out of her bag and handed one to each of them. “There's probably a Hydra cell forming or already formed in New York. They seem….really interested in the fact that the director of SHIELD has spent so much time here recently. ”

“Why come here to tell us?”

“Because one, I’d rather stop them before they can hurt anyone, and two, telling you in person, where we can converse, speeds the process along. Plus, having a one-sided conversation has been boring. I’m pretty sure they have this place under surveillance.”

“And you still came here?” They were grateful for the information, sure, but in coming here, with Hydra watching, Felicity, their one source, could get compromised.

“That’s why I asked Lyla to only tell the Avengers and whichever SHIELD agents had high enough clearance that I was coming. As far as anyone else knows, I’m here for a job interview with Miss Potts and the rest of you just happen to be here.”

“Speaking of job interviews-“ Tony began to say.

“I’d love to, but can’t. I have business that needs me in Starling City. Plus, I’m kinda going the freelance route at the moment. But, if you ever need a consultant, I wouldn’t say no.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, we’d love to have you.” Pepper answered and Felicity smiled. “We look really weird standing off in this corner, we should go join everyone else.” The group walked back over to where everyone else was. As soon as she got over there, Felicity found herself face-to-face with Skye

“Did you really hack into the Pentagon and send the Joint Chiefs proof?” the woman wondered. Felicity chuckled a little bit before answering.

“I feel like every time that story gets told, it becomes more and more unbelievable. I did hack into the Pentagon just to see if I could, but I didn’t take a screenshot or anything. I took a screenshot when I hacked into the Department of Education, but uh, that’s a story for another day.” Her phone then began to go off. “Sorry, I have to go meet a friend for dinner. It was nice meeting you all.”

Everyone returned the sentiment in one form or another, and the blonde headed towards the elevator. The door was about to close when Steve ran in.

“Are you- you’re not leaving the city already are you?”

“Nope. I figured while I’m here I can catch up with a few friends, see some landmarks, stuff like that.” She shrugged.

“Well, have fun I guess.”

“Thanks, Captain.”

“You can call me Steve.”

 

As Felicity exited the building, and mentally prepared herself for her next stop, she decided her trip to Stark Tower went a lot better than she thought it would. Excluding Steve, she didn’t have to yell at anyone, nor did she have to explain too much to anyone.

_Here’s hoping dinner with Talia works out just as nicely. It probably won’t, but a girl can dream. Plus, Nyssa isn’t here to get into an argument with her about everything. I wonder how the League’s mission to end Hydra is going? Is it bad I hope it’s going well?_

A few days after Felicity first contacted SHIELD, she came across an autopsy report for a known high-level Hydra member. It didn’t take much for Felicity to realize this was the work of the League of Assassins, which Ra’s himself later confirmed. The two then came to an agreement: the League would stay out of her way if she stayed out of theirs. The League didn’t see the hundreds of Hydra drones she was exposing as worth their time anyways; they were concerned with the high-ranking members and the leadership.

Felicity had arranged to meet Talia at a hole-in-the-wall Indian restaurant in Brooklyn. The blonde braced herself as she pushed the door to the empty restaurant open. Talia and her guards were the only ones inside.

“Hello Felicity.” The elder woman said standing up.

“Hey Talia.” Felicity then greeted the three guards with Talia before sitting down. “It’s nice to see you.”

“You as well. It’s been some time since we last spoke.”

“Yeah, well, its been a crazy year. And thank you, for giving James a push in the right direction.”

“It was nothing, you are like a sister to me and I wished to help someone you care about. Besides, killing his captors was quite…stress-relieving. How is Al-Jundi?”

“Better than he was when you saw him. It is a slow-process." Felicity said before changing the subject slightly. "Speaking of beloveds, how is yours?”

“Reluctant to see me.” That news wasn’t surprising. Saying that Bruce and Talia had a complicated relationship was the understatement of the century. “Our differences make reconciliation difficult. I did not ask you here to speak about this.”

“I figured as much. I do owe you a favor after all.”

“One I have no interest in calling in at the moment.” Talia responded. “I am here on behalf of Father. He wishes to see you.”

“Wishes to see me or requests my presence in Nanda Parbat? Because we both know those are two different things. With two very different outcomes.” Ra’s wishing to see someone meant they had a choice; Ra’s requesting their presence was his way of saying ‘you will be coming to Nanda Parbat now, whether you like it or not’.

“Wishes to see you, it has been years since your last visit. You do not wish to shed blood, but that does not mean you are unwelcome in Nanda Parbat.” Talia explained. “You are still under the protection of the League after all.”

“Ra’s only placed me under the League’s protection because James wasn’t around to protect me. Now that he’s free of Hydra, your father’s fulfilled his duty. Which I'm grateful for. Other than that, I’m just a valuable source of information.”

“For someone so intelligent, you can be rather foolish. Father may have initially protected you out of respect of Al-Jundi, but that stopped being his only reason a long time ago. Nor were you only protected because he was indisposed.” Talia explained. “You may not be an assassin, but you are one of us nonetheless.” Felicity looked skeptical. “Your ability to provide us with information is not the only value that you have. You are a sister to Nyssa and I. You are a friend to many others in the League. Father holds you in very high regard. You earned all of those things by yourself, not because of who your beloved is.”

Felicity was quiet for a moment. The last time she went to Nanda Parbat it was because the League 'required her skills'. She wondered if that's what Ra's request was about. “Before I accept or refuse, is there something going on I need to know about?”

“Nothing Father wouldn’t have told you of last month when you called inquiring about the dead Hydra member. It has been nearly four years since most of the League has seen you, please just consider it.”

“I will…think about it. Now, I’m hungry, can we please eat?”

“Of course.”

* * *

 

**Sokovia**

“You cannot keep doing this Pietro!” Wanda yelled as her brother came running into their family home, carrying a bag of stolen food. “You are going to get caught.”

“You worry too much. I am older one, remember?” he shot back. “Besides, no one saw me.”

“You still should not do these things. It brings attention.”

“Why is attention bad? We can do amazing things, things rest of Sokovia would kill for.”

“Because we’re different from them. We are alone, and we are different, and that make us targets. Even Mother could not explain what we were.” It started shortly after Wanda and Pietro hit puberty. The twins slowly discovered they could do things no one else could do, and no one could explain how. “People do not trust things they cannot explain. They will come after us, if you do not stop.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Several chapters ago, I mentioned that Felicity 'tries to stay out of League business', try being the operative word. The League doesn't exactly just let people go.
> 
> Like I said a few chapters ago, Wanda and Pietro have a slightly different origin story than in Age of Ultron. I know their speech pattern is a little weird, I based it off of relatives from Eastern Europe who sound kinda like that.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity finishes her business in New York, Ra's makes an appearance, and things in Russia are getting complicated

After dinner with Talia, Felicity met up with her friend Carmen from MIT for drinks. The next day, she went sightseeing and took dorky tourist pictures because according to Sara ‘it’s New York, so you have to’. Beyond that, she spent a lot of time with the Avengers. No one was willing to waste the opportunity of having her around to demonstrate how she found Hydra members, and she really wanted to geek out with Tony and Bruce.

When the blonde entered the pair’s ‘Science Bros and Guests Only’ lab, her inner science geek practically yelled in excitement. Stark spent a lot of time trying to convince her to work for his company, using increasingly outrageous bribes. Offering money, she could understand, or even a higher position than his original offer, but what was she going to do with ‘Capsicle’s shield when he doesn’t need it’ or a yacht? The lengths he was willing to go to were flattering, and hilarious though. She was in the middle of discussing Bruce’s latest research project with him when her phone rang. She went into the hallway, the man heard screaming a few moments later and went to investigate.

“That’s great! I’m actually in New York right now but on my way back, I’ll make a stop…. Ok, bye.”

“Everything ok?” Bruce asked.

“Yeah. Remember the particle accelerator explosion in Central City back in December? Well, a friend of mine was struck by lightning when that happened and fell into a coma. He woke up yesterday.”

“That explains the screaming.”

“Yeah, sorry about that.” She said sheepishly. “I hope it didn’t startle you too much.”

“The, uh, Other Guy kinda jumped slightly, but we’re fine.” Bruce said a little resigned. Over the last few days, Felicity had treated him like an ordinary person, not like a time bomb about to go off. He liked that. Her statement was just a reminder that he wasn’t an ordinary person.

“That wasn’t what I meant, but ok. I mean, I haven’t brought up the ‘Other Guy’ because it would be impolite, but you seem to…have a handle on it.”

“That’s why you haven’t asked about him?” That surprised him, usually people thought just bringing him up would make the ‘Other Guy’ appear. Or they asked anyway in the most obnoxious way possible.

“Well, I feel like the first thing anyone ever asks you anymore is about him, and that has to get annoying. Plus, if you haven’t noticed, but I kinda meet superheroes or whatever all the time, but getting to meet world-renown physicists is rare for me.”

Felicity left New York the next day, promising to keep Steve up-to-date on Bucky’s progress and notify SHIELD of any new developments regarding Hydra. she left without giving Talia a yes or no answer to visiting Nanda Parbat. She made a quick stop in Central City on the way home. Shortly after arriving in Central, she accidentally discovered Barry’s secret when The Flash showed up to prevent a robbery at the bank she was in.

Finally, after a week that felt like a month, Felicity’s train pulled into Starling City. She quickly made her way home and found herself nose-to-nose with Bucky when she opened the door. “Hey.”

“Hi.”

“I take it you missed me?” Felicity asked before kissing him.

“Maybe just a little. Ok, a lot.” He said before returning the kiss.

They moved inside and filled each other in on their last few days. Felicity talked about all the science she did with Tony and Bruce, and Bucky mostly talked about baking and how far he’d gotten into the Harry Potter series, which he started reading after Sara told him there was more than one book. He’d finished Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban earlier that day.

“Ok, I think we’re trying to avoid the elephant in the room here. You and Steve talked.” She decided to start the conversation off light.

“We did.”

“And? Did it bring any new memories out? How did it make you feel? What’s the next thing you want to do on that front?”

“A few memories. Mostly confused and exhausted. I don’t know what to do next. You already promised him updates, didn’t you?”

“I told him I’d let him know if anything changes. It seemed appropriately vague and yet seemingly cooperative.” Felicity admitted. “I just want to make sure everyone’s on the same page.”  _I also don't want to think about the fact that my semi-adopted father, who's an assassin, wants to talk to me. For some reason._

“Can we focus on that tomorrow? _Cosmos_ is almost on.” Bucky had discovered another thing he liked about this time. There were some many documentaries and programs about space, and technology, and science in general, which he remembered liking in the 40s.

“You know, the Smithsonian left out how much of a science nerd you are.”

“Takes one to know one, doll.”

* * *

 

**Nanda Parbat**

“And she did not give you an answer?” Ra’s al Ghul asked, turning to face Talia for the first time since she entered the room.

“She did not. She’s under the impression that she’s only permitted in Nanda Parbat when you summon her.” Talia answered and her father seemed disappointed. “In fairness, she does not know the truth of her place here.”

“Is there something you wish to say?”

“Yes. You should have told her the truth from the beginning. You didn’t tell her that she was, in the eyes of the League, a member of our family until a year after meeting her. Now, it will have taken you five years to tell her what her purpose is.” It was rare for Talia or Nyssa to so blatantly disrespect their father.

“She never would have agreed if I had.”

“In time, she could have. Now, she will resent you for lying to her. And everyone else for not telling her or giving her an indication of the truth.”

“I did not lie, I merely misled her. I did not want her to believe her life was no longer her own. Either way, what’s done is done and she cannot stay angry at me forever. Nor can she blame you for abiding by the will of Ra’s al Ghul.”

* * *

 

**Siberia**

A middle-aged man looked on uninterested as two gurneys were wheeled past him and into the facility. “Any issues with procuring our guests?”

“Some, Herr Strucker. The boy required enough sedative to take down a family of gorillas.” One of his men answered. “The girl was easier to subdue, marginally.”

“And you made sure not to be seen?”

“They are orphans. No one is even looking for them.” Dr. List said walking over to Baron von Strucker. It was true, Wanda and Pietro were adults and with no close friends, it could be weeks before anyone noticed they were missing.

“They should be. SHIELD may have won the battle, but thanks to the twins and this facility slipping through the cracks, we will win the war.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, Ra's essentially adopted Felicity back in 2009 and told her like a year later. We'll find out why he did that in the first place in a few chapters.


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity gets some advice from Bucky and takes a trip, and the Avengers get some new information and have surprise visitors.

**Starling City-Felicity’s House**

A few days after Felicity returned from New York, Bucky noticed she’d been acting differently. She seemed distracted and really jumpy, well, jumpier.

“Are you gonna tell me what’s wrong?” He asked one afternoon.

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve been skittish ever since you came back from New York, you’re distracted. Yesterday, we had Big Belly Burger, your favorite, and you barely ate anything. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“It’s not nothing. Did something happen? Did I do something to upset you? You gotta give me a clue here.”

“You- you didn’t do anything. I just…. I’ve got a lot happening, up here.” She gestured to her head. “A lot to process.”

“Is it about New York? Did something happen when you met with Steve or something.”

“Well, not when I met with Steve….”  _After that, when I met Talia and she dropped the 'go see Father' bomb on me._

“That doesn’t tell me a whole lot.”

“I kinda…. ran into Talia while I was in New York, we had dinner. She told me her father wants to see me. In Nanda Parbat. I don’t know why.”

“And this worries you?” Bucky had never met Ra’s al Ghul; he only knew the man by reputation.

“Well, yeah, I mean he’s the Demon Head. He doesn’t ask to see people, he orders it. This is just….out of my element. When he wants me to find information, he usually just sends someone to tell me. I’m just…. concerned about his phrasing. And what it means.”  _He's never phrased anything that way. "WIshes to see me" could mean he wants to kill me or something._

“What could it mean?”

“I don’t know…I mean, Ra’s put me under the League’s protection after you went back to Hydra in 2009. He sorta adopted me as far as the League is concerned, but what if that’s not the case anymore? What if you being free of Hydra means my arrangement with the League has changed? I mean, obviously it has, it’s been five years but-“ she began to get frantic.

“What do you mean, he adopted you?”

“So, the only way I could be under Ra’s protection without being forced to do ‘unspeakable things’ in his own words, was if I was a member of his family. Of course, he had me go through the ceremony for the tattoo and then a year later told me what exactly that process meant. Anyway, yeah, the League views me as his youngest daughter.” Felicity admitted awkwardly. “back to the point, what if now they decide to make me be an assassin or that I have to-“

“Hey, it’s gonna be ok. You said he asked to see you, not demanded, right? So, you can say ‘no’.”

“Well, yeah. I guess I could, but the League kinda only asks once, and if I say no, they might come here and things will get complicated and-“

“Have you talked to Sara? Or Nyssa? They might be able to tell you something.”

“They both answer to Ra’s though. If he doesn’t want me to know what this is about, they won’t tell me.”

“It can’t hurt to ask though. Maybe this is his way of just saying he wants to see you.” Bucky said, sounding surprisingly optimistic.

"You clearly don't know the Demon Head."

* * *

  **New York**

Felicity had been gone from New York for a week, and things at the tower were just beginning to settle. She left Skye with a rudimentary version of the program she used to track Hydra members, which cut down on how often Felicity herself had to contact the agency. The rollercoaster of emotions Felicity’s revelations had brought died down within a few days as well.

“Any luck on finding our Hydra cell?” Steve asked one morning.

“Well, we’ve identified a few potential members, but SHIELD can’t exactly arrest them for their opinions.” Hill answered. “We’re in a holding pattern until they break a law or plan something.”

“This certainly was easier when we already had evidence of illegal activity.”

“The joys of law enforcement. I can’t say I miss it.”

Steve’s response was cut off when the elevator opened and Coulson, Skye, May, Natasha, Clint, and another SHIELD agent exited.

“Everything ok?”

“Not by a long shot.” Coulson answered. “Skye?”

“As you know, we haven’t caught every person named in the files. A lot went underground, a lot more left the country.”

“And?”

“A lot of the remaining Hydra leadership is overseas. People who were privy to everything, not just Project Insight. Decision makers, high-level management, even a few people who were equal with Alexander Pierce.”

“And you found a bunch of them?” Steve asked, wondering where this was going and hoping he’d get a chance to actually fight Hydra soon.

“No. I used Felicity’s program to locate some of the leadership by imputing the name of a few members we caught. It works kinda like the six degrees of separation. It seemed odd that we were only finding paper pushers and office drones, with a few deep cover operatives here and there. Fourteen of the names my search produced were never on our radar, they’re all leadership, and six of them are dead. Found in their beds with their throats slit or stabbed in the heart. Two others are missing, with signs of a struggle.”

“How likely is it that Felicity simply missed these names?” Hill asked.

“Next to impossible. Every name we’ve been given matched the list exactly except those fourteen names.”

“She wouldn’t have left those off without a reason.” Coulson said.

May had a pensive look on her face. “They were stabbed in the heart or their throats were slit?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s the same way Dr. Saner died. His throat was slit in his sleep. The maid found him the next morning.”

“You think they’re connected.” Steve said.

“I think Felicity knows a lot more than she told us.” May responded.

Steve and Natasha both started to respond when an ARGUS agent entered the room. “Sorry, traffic was a little heavy, I got your message. What’s this about?”

“Dr. Saner.”

“The chemist the Winter Soldier killed five years ago? What about him?”

“Multiple people have been found killed in the same way. All Hydra members.” Coulson said.

“What was the COD?” the agent asked, his interest piqued.

“You don’t know?”

“ARGUS didn’t get sent that file.” The agent replied. “What was the cause of death?”

“Someone slit his throat in his sleep.”

“That explains it then. Why we didn’t get that file, not really our wheelhouse.” The agent said mostly to himself. “I can ask my director to look into it if you’d like.”

“Ask her to discuss it with the Ghost Fox Goddess.” Coulson said, ignoring how weird he sounded.

“Captain, we-“ JARVIS began to say.

“That is not necessary, Philip Coulson.” A male voice said from behind them. Everyone turned and saw three masked men dressed all in black standing next to the open door to the balcony. “Dr. Saner was an unfortunate but necessary casualty, as many including Al-Jundi and Dawar Al-Shams would tell you were they here. Neither will give you the answers you seek.”

“How did you get in here? Who are you?”

“Neither of those answers matter. What you want to know is what happened to the dead and missing men abroad, yes?” The man in the middle said, his face covered. He had a slight accent that no one could immediately place.

“Yeah, you could say that.”

“It is quite simple. It was commanded that they die. As for the missing, they soon will wish for death.”

“Commanded? By who?”

“One who serves true justice.” The man said vaguely. “Forget about the deceased men in across the sea. They are gone, the living should be your concern.” Before anyone could ask another question, the man on the left dropped a smoke bomb and the trio were gone.

“Anyone know what that was about?” Steve asked.

“No, but it might involve Barnes.” Clint said.

“How do you know?”

“He mentioned someone called ‘Al-Jundi’, that’s ‘the soldier’ in Arabic. No person fits that description better than Barnes.”

“What did that other word translate to?” Skye asked out of curiosity.

“Sunflower. Probably a code name or something.”

* * *

  **Nanda Parbat**

As Felicity walked into the belly of the beast, she tried to appear confident. She felt completely out of her element and very alone. Sure, Nyssa and Talia were her ‘sisters’, and she had many friends here, but they would not stand against Ra’s on her behalf. Whatever the reason for the Demon Head wanting to see her, she was on her own and woefully unprepared should the worst happen.

Shortly after discussing the situation with James, she called Nyssa, who advised her to come to Nanda Parbat as soon as possible. Her father hated having to wait. As soon as she reached the mountain, five assassins appeared out of nowhere and escorted her further into the compound. When they reached the door outside of Ra’s throne room, Felicity paused and took a deep breath before pushing the door open. _Please don’t try to kill me. Please don’t try to kill me. Please, like, just want to have a weird family reunion or something. Or tech support, I’d settle for having to set up the WiFi._

When the door opened, every person in the room turned towards the noise and all eyes were on Felicity.

“Ah, Zahara. You have arrived.” Ra’s said sounding surprisingly happy, or at the very least, pleasant. This was a good sign.

“Talia said you wanted to see me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, there's a cliff hanger. I know, I suck.  
> -  
> Dawar Al-Shams means 'Sunflower' in Arabic according to Google Translate, Zahara is an Arabic name meaning 'bright dawn'. I decided the League would incorporate Felicity's bright personality into her name.


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Ra's is a contender for the worst father ever, Felicity and Bucky have a lot to think about, and friendships are damaged.

**Starling City**

Bucky awoke to the sound of a door slamming and someone muttering under their breath. He grabbed a handgun and cautiously moved towards the front door to assess the threat. He relaxed, and smiled when he saw that Felicity was back from Nanda Parbat.

“Hey, you’re back.” He said as he put the gun down and moved to kiss her. She held her arm up to stop him.

“Don’t.” she said dangerously. “Did you know?”

“Did I know what?”

She was looking at the wall behind him, not at him. “Did you know why Ra’s took me in? Did you know about what my ‘purpose’ in the League is? Did you?!” Felicity was almost hysterical at this point.

“Felicity, look at me. Please.” She closed her eyes and braced herself but turned to face him. He slowly put one hand on her shoulder. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. What happened?”

“Ra’s finally decided to tell me the truth.”

* * *

 

**Nanda Parbat-Two days earlier**

“Talia said you wanted to see me.”

“And yet, it took you nearly a fortnight to arrive in Nanda Parbat.” Ra’s said with an edge to his voice.

“I needed to sort a few things out before I left Starling City. I’m sorry if I made you wait.”

“Luckily, I am a patient man.” Ra’s then ordered everyone out in Arabic. Everyone, including Talia and Nyssa, left. “I suppose you are curious as to why I wished to see you.”

“I’m very curious; you know I hate mysteries. The fact that Talia and Nyssa left with everyone else worries me.”

“Your sisters already know what I wish to share with you. I will not waste their time and make them listen again.” Ra’s said as he began to circle Felicity. “You have no cause for concern, my child.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not your biological child and you’re not the one being circled by a man who’s name literally means ‘Head of the Demon’. Excuse me for being a little apprehensive.” Felicity blurted out and then closed her eyes in regret. “I didn’t mean for it to come out like that.”

Surprisingly, Ra’s didn’t yell or attempt to kill her, he began laughing. “Ah, there is that fire much of the League was transfixed by when our paths first crossed. Tell me, how is Al-Jundi?”

“He is doing well, he sends his regards. He didn’t come with me, I didn’t know how his presence would be perceived.”

“Please give him my regards as well.” _Ok, I guess that means you’re not gonna kill me._ “Your beloved is always welcome in Nanda Parbat.” Ra’s said. “Now, to business. The reason I wished to see you. What do you think it is?”

“I honestly don’t know. Talia was rather tight-lipped and Nyssa only told me arrive before your patience had worn out. If it was a task for the League, someone would’ve just told me. I get the feeling this has something to do with James, sorry, Al-Jundi no longer being a prisoner of Hydra.”

“It does indeed. Five years ago, I placed you under the protection of the League of Assassins and informed you that it was due to your beloved being indisposed. Later, I informed you that you were not simply Dawar Al-Shams, the sunflower, but also Zahara al Ghul, the daughter of Ra’s al Ghul.”

“Yes, I remember.” That day ranked very high on Felicity’s list of ‘Weirdest Days of my Life’. Talia took Felicity to Nanda Parbat, Ra’s informed her that she was now his daughter, the blonde used her Loud Voice, which the Demon Head was immune to. He was also immune to answer any of her questions about why he claimed her as family or what that meant or anything substantial. He did assure her that she wouldn’t be forced to become an assassin, so that was a plus.

“I neglected to inform you of why I made the decision to claim you as my child. When you were first brought here, I could have forced you into the life of an assassin, or simply killed you, but I saw your blood could be used for another purpose. As a means to unite Al-Jundi and the League of Assassins. He as husband, and you as wife.”

Felicity thought back on the last five years. She remembered every time she asked Nyssa or Talia what her role in the League was, only for them to wave her question off. All four times ‘League business’ made her cancel a date with the same person. Eventually, he claimed to have gotten the hint and stopped calling. She realized how much of her personal life in the last five years was affected by the Ra’s and his machinations. How had she not realized all of this earlier?

“What? Seriously, an arranged marriage, that’s why you ‘adopted’ me and kept getting your assassins to interfere in my life? Why I spent over a year having basically no life other than work because every date I made, every time I made plans I had to cancel because you ‘needed’ my expertise? So I’d end up with the person you wanted me to.”

“They did not interfere, merely try to keep you on the correct path. The Winter Soldier is a dangerous man, one the League would rather have as an ally than as an enemy. My original idea was to have him wed Talia, but Nyssa witness his devotion to you in Cambridge, and yours to him, and I adjusted accordingly. Al-Jundi could not be left unchecked, not could he be recruited into the League. An alliance through marriage was the only solution. It was the will of Ra’s al Ghul.”

“Ignoring my own anger regarding this. So, I’m just supposed to go back to Starling and tell him ‘hey, the Demon Head says we need to get married’? What happens if he says ‘no’ to all of this?”

“I am not asking you to wed him; I am informing you that, in the eyes of the League, you already have. Something he may already be aware of.”

“What do you mean ‘I already have’? How? When?”

“Do the answers to any of those questions matter at this point?”

“No, but I’m still really pissed that no one told me this until now.”

“I could have, but I elected not to, and nothing either of us does can change that.”

“Well, thanks for finally telling me the truth. Oh, and tell my ‘sisters’ thanks for making me feel like I was more than just a bargaining chip and lying to my face on multiple occasions. I’m going back to Starling now.” She headed towards the door and found both her ‘sisters’ waiting outside. Nyssa moved to speak.

“Sister, I-“

“Don’t. Seriously, just- I don’t have words to explain how angry I am right now. So I want all of you to leave me the hell alone.” Felicity said through clenched teeth. “If I’m ever ready to talk to any of you again, I’ll find you.” She began to walk out.

“Let her go, Nyssa.” Ra’s said. “This is something she must process on her own.”

“You can be as angry as you want, my child. It changes nothing.” Were Ra’s parting words as she left the compound.

* * *

 

**Starling**

“Why would he think I knew about this?” Bucky asked.

“No idea. Maybe he thinks Nyssa or Talia said something to you. Right now, I don’t really care what his thought process is.” Felicity spat out before pacing the room. “Because apparently we got married and no one thought to tell either of us.”

“And you’re upset by this?” He wasn’t sure if he wanted to agree, feel offended or hide until Felicity wasn’t so angry anymore. He hoped her anger was completely directed at Ra’s and the League, not him.

“They lied to me for five years. And this wasn’t lying by omission. Talia and Nyssa looked me directly in the face, multiple times, and told me that my situation wasn’t completely about you, that my friendship with them wasn’t about you. They made me feel like I was important enough on my own, when it turns out I wasn’t. I’m just the fracking Bride of the Soldier. I love you, I won’t try to deny it, but they decided all of these things for me at a time when I was dealing with a lot and didn’t tell me. For five years.”

“Father never thought he’d have to tell you.” a voice said from behind them. They both turned and saw Nyssa there.

“Do you really think now is the best time for this?!”

“I know it is not, but I only ask that you give me five minutes of your time before throwing away five years of friendship.”

“Ok, start talking.” Felicity said crossing her arms.

“Father did not believe that the two of you would be reunited in this life. The chances of you even crossing paths again were infinitesimal. He didn’t see the point in informing you of such ‘trivial matters’ in his own words, unless the two of you found your way back to one another. And now you have, so he was forced to tell you. Your ignorance now would only serve to aid our enemies.”

“That isn’t making me feel any less angry.”

“I know. And, for my part, I apologize for deceiving you. I foolishly believed that keeping you ignorant of such information was the right thing to do.”

“Ok, I heard you out, now leave. Please.” Felicity said.

“I will respect your wishes. Regardless of if you forgive me, if you ever need my assistance, I will be there.” Nyssa nodded to both Bucky and Felicity before leaving.

The two stood there in silence for a moment, unsure of what to do next. Finally, Felicity exhaled, turned to Bucky and said, “You know what this calls for? A glass of wine the size of my face, because this situation has like 19 different levels of weirdness and awkwardness and I don’t wanna deal with that right now. You can join me if you’d like.”

“I’m gonna need something stronger.” Bucky said walking over to the liquor cabinet in the living room and pulling out a bottle of vodka. “There’s a thing of caramel brownies on the counter.”

“You are……a magical human being.” Felicity said before heading into the kitchen.

* * *

 

**Siberia**

The sound of a man’s screaming echoed through the facility. A few moments later, the screams stopped.

“Are you ready to comply?” a bored Baron von Strucker asked.

“When I get out of here, I will kill you.” Pietro said through clenched teeth.

“Disappointing.” He remarked before turning to one of his lackeys. “Again.” The screams started up again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so Ra's is kinda the worst. I'm pretty sure if you bought him a "World's Best Dad" mug it would spontaneously combust just on principle.  
> The tension between Felicity, and the al Ghuls is necessary for later chapters.


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity spends time with a friend, Bucky and Oliver talk and its slightly more productive, and Sara gives Bucky an unexpected opportunity.

**Starling-One Week Later**

**Laurel’s Apartment**

Laurel Lance was enjoying her Saturday morning cup of coffee when her phone rang. Knowing it wasn’t work or a family member, she had a specific ringtone for each, she shrugged and answered.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Laurel.” Felicity said on the other end. “How’s it goin’?”

“Pretty good. Is everything ok? You normally don’t call like this.”

“Why would anything- Ok, nothing’s wrong but I’m a little agitated. Ok, I’m really pissed off and I was wondering if that offer to join you for kick-boxing is still good? I know you normally go on Saturdays, so….” Felicity trailed off.

“The offers still good.” Laurel said chuckling slightly. The first time Laurel had lunch with Sara, Felicity and Thea, Laurel mentioned that she started doing kick-boxing on Saturdays shortly after getting sober. She invited all three to join her if they ever felt like it. This was the first time anyone mentioned it again. “Class isn’t for another hour, I’ll text you the address.”

“Ok, thanks.”

 Forty-five minutes later, she saw Felicity standing outside the building when she walked up. “Hey.”

“Hey, thanks for, you know, letting me crash your Saturday morning ritual.” Felicity said a little awkwardly. She didn’t know Laurel that well, but they were getting closer, and Sara and Thea weren’t the best option at the moment. Talking to Sara felt too much like putting her in the middle and Thea was out of town with Roy.

“No problem, besides, now I won’t be the newbie.” Laurel told her as they headed inside. “What’s going on? I mean, you sounded really angry on the phone. I didn’t know you could be that angry.”

“It’s….I had a bit of a falling out with my family last week. They told me some things they’ve been hiding from me for a while. And, rather than give me time to process everything and calm down, my sisters keep calling to explain, and its making the situation worse.”

“I didn’t know you had any sisters.” Laurel replied, but saw the look on her face and moved on. “So, you needed to get some of that aggression out.”

“Yeah, I also figured, why not do that and spend some time with a friend at the same time?” she said smiling which Laurel returned.

* * *

 

**Felicity’s house**

Bucky was doing his weekly weapons upkeep when there was a knock at the door. He answered it and saw Oliver and Digg were standing there. “Felicity’s not here. She went somewhere with Laurel.”

“I’m not here to see her, I’m here to see you.” The archer replied.

“I’m just here as a buffer.” John said. Who he needed to be a buffer for remained unspoken.

“Ok. Come inside I guess.” He moved out of the doorway. “So, why did you want to see me?”

“I talked to Felicity a few days ago, and she kinda pointed out a few things I missed.”

* * *

 

**Arrow Cave-Three days earlier**

“Hey, you’re back. How was New York?” Oliver asked, repeating the mantra of ‘She’s your friend, you want her to be happy’ mentally over and over.

“Good. The trip to see my family, not so much. Are you talking to me again?”

“I always talk to you.” Oliver replied, knowing that wasn’t true.

“You haven’t over the last four or five weeks, ever since James came back into my life. You only talk to me when you have to.”

“I know, it’s just-I was dealing with a lot of things, and I projected my anger onto you.”

“So, it had nothing to do with the fact that he punched you or that I kept things from you or that we’re dating?” Felicity asked skeptically.

“I was angry about the first two and the last one, well, who you date is your business, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is. And I understand there might be some hurt feelings here, but that doesn’t make it okay for you to be a dick to me because of it. I didn’t take my hurt feeling out on you.”

“I know, I know. And I want to apologize. Felicity, I’m sorry for the way I’ve treated you over the last few months. I hope you can forgive me and we can still be friends.”

“Of course we’re still friends Oliver. God, you vigilantes are so clueless sometimes.” Felicity said laughing slightly. “You know, its too bad you hate Bucky, you two have a lot in common.”

“I don’t hate him, we just….don’t get along.”

“Because you haven’t tried. The first time you met, he punched you, the second time you showed up looking for a fight. I’m not saying you two need to be BFFs, but can you please try to get along? Please?”

* * *

 

**Felicity’s House-Present**

“So that’s why you’re here.” Bucky said.

“Yeah. I told her I’d at least try, so I am.” Oliver said standing there awkwardly. John didn’t say anything.

Bucky studied them for a moment before saying, “Sit down, don’t touch my guns, I’ll be right back.”

Oliver and John obliged, even though they were incredibly confused. He returned a few moments later with a bottle of vodka and three glasses. “I feel like we might need this.”

“It’s like 11am.” Oliver pointed out.

“And?”

“Can we, uh, put the guns away before we start drinking? I don’t want to explain a gunshot wound to my pregnant girlfriend.” Digg said.

Bucky nodded and began reassembling his guns.

“Where did you get this many guns?” Oliver asked.

“I stole them from Hydra when they tried to recapture me two weeks after that mess in DC.” Bucky answered as he worked. “Three office workers stumbled upon me and tried to sell me back to them. And before you ask, no I didn’t kill them.”

“I wasn’t gonna ask.” Oliver defended.

“You were thinking about it though.” He responded putting the last weapon back together and storing the bag of ammunition behind the television. “They were just cogs in the machine, their deaths wouldn’t have meant anything to Hydra. Besides, going after them is more Felicity’s style.”

“What do you mean?” Oliver asked.

“You haven’t worked it out, have you?” Bucky asked as he poured vodka into the glasses. “She’s one who’s been unmasking Hydra members, and who got rid of Waller. That’s why she went to New York, had to talk to the Avengers in person.”

“I thought it was her.” Digg said. “What happen to Waller aside, I just couldn’t figure out why.”

“It was her coping mechanism. She spent four years thinking I was dead and then six months living with the knowledge that I was a prisoner. She couldn’t help me, but she could make sure Hydra paid for what they’ve done to people.”

Oliver and Diggle left after about an hour. They weren’t exactly friends, but they had come to an understanding and hoped they could remain civil in the future.

 

“Blondie, I know you’re still pissed at Nyssa but I got huge news.” Sara said as she waltzed into Felicity’s house.

“She’s not here.” Bucky said from the couch. “She also doesn’t want to hear whatever Nyssa has to say.”

“Nyssa can speak for herself and so can Felicity.” Sara pointed out. “I’m not here about the League. Where is she?”

“Said she went to see your sister. What’s this about?”

“I just…..found something out that she might need to know.” Sara said evasively. She clearly was hiding something. “Nothing too serious. Nothing you’d find important.”

“You said it was huge news and then demanded to know where she is. Sounds serious to me.” Bucky said, staring her down. “What is it?”

“Fine, but if she asks, you tricked me into answering, ok? There’s a Hydra cell in Bludhaven. I stumbled upon them during a League-related task. I told her I’d get more intel on them so she could decide what to do. They’re planning something.”

“Oh, that’s why you didn’t want to tell me. I’m not gonna snap back into Winter Soldier mode because I hear the word ‘Hydra’. and you don’t need to worry Felicity with it.” he said standing up. “Where is their base?”

* * *

 

**Bludhaven**

The Hydra cell had set up shop in an abandoned warehouse. _Why is it always a warehouse? It seems such an obvious choice at this point, the first place SHIELD should start looking for these assholes is all the abandoned warehouses. It would save them so much time._

Bucky got to the base shortly after sunset. He and Felicity had a nice, quiet dinner and then she headed to the Arrow Cave. He waited fifteen minutes before grabbing most of his guns, getting into his commandeered SUV and driving to Bludhaven. He parked about a block away from the base and put on his tactical vest. He wasn’t sure how he felt about going further into ‘Asset Mode’ as Felicity called it. As he checked his weapons, his mind began to wander.

_I wonder why Felicity didn’t tell me about this._

_She’s had a lot on her plate and didn’t want to worry you. Or make you do something you didn’t want to. Sara only found them three days ago._

_I’m a grown man. And an internationally feared assassin. I can handle it._

_You also jump whenever there’s a siren on TV._

When he was certain all of his weapons were loaded and in their correct holsters, he got out of the car. He then realized this was the first time in over two months that he was actually doing something to hurt Hydra.

_This might actually be fun._ He thought as he headed towards the building.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is gonna be exciting. Also, actual plot things are gonna start happening soon, I just felt like wiritng some filler


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky confronts the Hydra cell, Nyssa has excellent timing and other things happen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I added this to the general description, but word written _like this_ are Arabic.
> 
> I also randomly remembered that Thor has been MIA this whole time with no explanation. Just assume he's catching up with Jane or in Asgard.

**Bludhaven**

The warehouse was surrounded by other abandoned buildings, which made Bucky feel better. No innocent people could end up in the crossfire if there were no innocent people around. He’d driven past one entrance to the building on the trip there and saw no guards or surveillance present. The other entrance was guarded by a single man who was too busy on his phone to actually guard the door.

The guard went down thanks to a well-placed hit to the back of the head. Bucky dragged him away from the door and stalked inside. He found a group of white industrial vans directly inside and ducked behind the front of one when he heard footsteps approaching.

“Do we really need this much C4? Or so many AKs?”

“We’re a Hydra cell, not a bunch of Girl Scouts.” Another voice answers. “Help those two empty the van, I gotta talk to Frank.” The sound of the other man’s footsteps faded.

Bucky, wanting to cut off their escape, pulled one of his knives out and stabbed it into the two front tires of the van he was crouched behind. Silently, he did the same to the other four vans. By the time he stood up, only one of the three people emptying the vans was still around. He snuck up behind the man and put him into a sleeper hold.

“Dave, did you- hey!” a voice yelled from behind him. _Shit._

He turned and saw a man who couldn’t be more than twenty-three standing there looking frozen. _Sorry kid, shouldn’t have joined Hydra._ Without thinking, Bucky drew one of his guns and shot the kid in the kneecap. _There. He’s not dead, but he also can’t fight me now, can he?_ He had enough time to duck down behind a crate before four others arrived. _These Hydra assholes are like rats._

“What happened?” someone asked the kid who, in Bucky’s opinion, was being a little melodramatic.

“Are you blind?! Someone shot me!” the kid yells.

“Where’d he go?”

He must have pointed in the right direction, because three sets of footsteps began to approach. Barnes took a deep breath before standing up slightly from his crouch and shooting all three in the knee or lower legs. The last man, who had asked the kid what happened, was still standing near the doorway. He yelled “Intruder!” behind him before rushing forwards.

The man aimed at Bucky’s chest and missed. He retaliated by shooting out both the man’s knees instead of just one. The man then tried to shoot him again, this time from the floor and received a boot to the face for his trouble. Bucky then heard the sound of a weapon cocking. Looking up, there were three men holding automatic weapons aimed directly at him.

“I think you should take a step back before you make a very big mistake, friend.” One of them says to Bucky.

He didn’t even grace that with a response, and shot all three men in the hand, so they’d drop their weapons and then in the leg so that they couldn’t fight or run. He picked up their weapons and headed into the other room.

A dozen or so people were in there, clearly Bucky had attacked during some sort of meeting. Bucky opened fire, hitting three or four. They scattered when he entered and two produced handguns and took aim at him. One got shot in the leg, the other ran into a metal fist with his face. Three others then charged at him, two holding tasers, the third wielding a knife. The two taser users took a nice, long nap. For the knife-wielder, Bucky decided to fight this one out, rather than just shoot the man. It was a refreshing, if not brief, change of pace. The man even got a few slashes in before Bucky broke his wrist and knocked him out. Two others were unarmed but try to fight Bucky anyway and he knocked them out. Three tried to run out of the room and get shot, one unfortunate man was hit in the ass. The last remaining person, a middle-aged woman, raised her arms in surrender and Bucky knocked her out. He stopped to take a deep breath when he heard clapping behind him.

“Very impressive Sergeant.” A male voice said from behind him, a very familiar male voice. Barnes recognized it from DC and his entire body fills with dread. “And here we were worried we’d have to hunt you down. Instead, you come running right to us.”

Bucky didn’t answer but didn’t lower his weapon either.

“Wait until I tell my superiors that I found you. They’re gonna put you back in that chair and keep you there until your brains are scrambled eggs. You’re a weapon, nothing more. We made you. You don’t get to-” the man doesn’t finish, because suddenly, there is a knife protruding from the left side of his head.

“I hoped to find you here, _brother._ ” Nyssa said entering the room.

“I had that covered. And I’m not your brother.”

“In more than one way, you are.”

“You didn’t need to kill him.” Bucky said, ignoring what she had said. He busied himself by dragging the bleeding and unconscious people into one room.

“Perhaps, but I was sick of his incessant chatter. Why do adversaries always feel the need to make speeches? Besides, I let you deal with most of these men on your own.”

At her statement, he turned to face her. “What do you mean, you let me?”

“This was a test. Many wanted to see what you would do if knowledge of a Hydra cell reached you. So, I had someone you trust inform you.”

That explained more about Sara’s odd behavior than her ‘Felicity didn’t want to worry you’ excuse. “Did I at least pass?”

“It wasn’t a question of passing or failing. It was a matter of determining if you realize that you are still the Winter Soldier.”

“I told you, I’m not that person anymore.”

“Yes, you are. You could live another sixty years and never touch a weapon again, but you will still be the Winter Soldier. The past is unchanging. You cannot undo what you have done, you can only decide what you will do next. You get to decide what the name 'Winter Soldier' means. Will you stay hidden or will you fight those who have wronged you? I think what transpired here answers that question rather thoroughly.” Nyssa said.

“What would you have done if I didn’t come here?” Bucky wondered.

“Dealt with them myself, and hoped it would repair things between Zahara and I. I miss my sister.”

“It wouldn’t have. She’s still really pissed at you and Talia. The fact that you both keep calling her trying to explain doesn’t help.”

“Perhaps that is true. She cannot stay angry forever.” Nyssa said before turning to leave. “Please give her my regards.”

“She doesn’t want them.”

Bucky then walked through the building, tying everyone up and applying tourniquets on the few who need it. “Why?” one woman who’s bleeding from her thigh asked.

“I wouldn’t want any of you assholes to bleed out before you can get arrested.” He says before taking a phone off of one of the unconscious men and calling the Seattle FBI field office.

* * *

 

**Felicity’s house**

Bucky got back from Bludhaven surprisingly fast. He parked and walked towards the house, happy once again that none of the neighbors were particularly nosy. He crept inside and was putting his guns away when a voice called out.

“How was Bludhaven?”

“Productive.” He supplied as he turned around to see a less-than-happy Felicity standing there. “Are you angry?”

“That you went? No. I’m angry that you didn’t tell me you were going in the first place. I mean, I could’ve-“

“It wasn’t your fight. And I was supposed to beat you back here.” He said the last part with his signature smirk.

“The criminals of Starling took a night off.” Felicity said. “What if something had happened? What if you got captured again or it was a trap?”

“Nothing happened and it wasn’t a trap.” Bucky answered trying to calm her down.

“Sure, this time. I came home and you were gone. I had no idea if you just left or were taken or something worse. Do you have any idea how scared I was?” her voice cracked at the end.

Bucky dropped his bag of weapons and moved to put his arms around Felicity. “I can’t promise I’ll always come back, but I promise I’ll never stop trying.”

“Good, because I already lost you once. I’m not doing it again.” Felicity said returning the hug. “Does this mean you want to kick more Hydra ass in the future?”

“Hell yes.”

* * *

 

**New York**

The last week and a half had been odd for the Avengers. After their surprise, unknown visitors dropped by, SHIELD spent several days trying to track down who they were. They hit dead end after dead end, and five days after their visit, an envelope was sent to Avengers Tower. Inside was a single photo displaying the dead body of one of the missing Hydra members, a 40-something year old man named Albescu. On the back of the photo were the words “those without decency must be fought without hesitation, without pity.” So far, other than verifying the man’s identity and locating his body, the envelope hadn’t brought them any closer to finding the masked men or figuring out what they want.

Steve was in Tony’s lab discussing an upgrade to his uniform where JARVIS made an announcement.

“Excuse me, sirs, but Agent Coulson is on the line. He says its urgent and he is on his way.”

“What’s so urgent?” Tony asked.

“Apparently the FBI was called to the location of a Hydra cell. Their surveillance equipment recorded something of interest.”

“When he gets here, send him to the top floor. Gather everyone else.”

“Shall I also contact the ARGUS agent Director Michaels assigned to assist SHIELD?”

“Why not?” Tony shot back. “’It’s not like this is my tower or anything.”

 

Forty minutes later, everyone was on the top floor and waiting for Phil to arrive. The director stepped off of the elevator and his eyes widened as he read the room’s atmosphere.

“Sorry I’m late. I forgot how bad New York traffic is.”

“It’s a bitch. Why did you call us all here?” Clint asked.

“I didn’t, I just asked JARVIS to inform Rogers, Romanoff and Stark that I was coming.”

“So I can go back to sleep now? Great.” Barton got up and left.

“What’s this about Phil?” Steve asked.

“The FBI contacted me about two hours ago. One of their field offices got an anonymous tip about a potential threat. You kinda need to see the footage, but Barnes took down a Hydra cell in Bludhaven last night.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I know, cliffhanger. You might wanna get used to them...


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers find out what happened in Bludhaven, Lyla tries to prevent them from making a big mistake, and something unexpected happens.

**New York**

“You kinda need to see the footage, but Barnes took down a Hydra cell in Bludhaven last night.” Coulson said.

“What?”

Coulson held up a portable hard drive and said. “JARVIS, could you-“

“Of course, sir.” The AI responded and Stark’s huge television began playing the video.

It was taken from a security camera inside the building. Eighteen people were standing in what looked like an empty warehouse discussing something. A faint popping noise followed by a yell could be heard. Four people in the room stood and moved out of frame. Seconds later, more popping noises before the word “Intruder” was yelled towards the group. Then, more noise, which everyone now knew to be gunshots, rang out. A few moments later, Barnes walked into frame and began firing.

“Is he-“ Steve started to say.

“He’s aiming at their lower extremities, Captain.” JARVIS answered. “He appears to be trying not to kill anyone.”

Once Barnes entered the room, all hell broke loose. In groups of two or three, the Hydra members rushed towards him trying to fight. They were either knocked out quickly or shot in the kneecaps. When everyone in view was dealt with, the sound of clapping could be heard.

“Very impressive Sergeant.” A male voice said as he walked into frame. “And here we were worried we’d have to hunt you down. Instead, you come running right to us.”

“Who is that?” Steve asked.

“His name is Kevin Scott. He was one of many Hydra agents working under Alexander Pierce.” JARVIS supplied.

“Wait until I tell my superiors that I found you. They’re gonna put you back in that chair and keep you there until your brains are scrambled eggs. You’re a weapon, nothing more. We made you. You don’t get to-” the man fell forward with a knife sticking out of his head.

“I hoped to find you here, _brother_.” A woman with a British accent said.

“What does that mean?” Steve asked.

“It’s Arabic, for brother.” Natasha answered.

“I had that covered. And I’m not your brother.” Bucky replied.

“In more than one way, you are.”

“You didn’t need to kill him.” Bucky said, ignoring what her response was.

“Perhaps, but I was sick of his incessant chatter. Why do adversaries always feel the need to make speeches? Besides, I let you deal with most of these men on your own.”

Barnes turned to face her. “What do you mean, you let me?”

“This was a test. Many wanted to see what you would do if knowledge of a Hydra cell reached you. So, I had someone you trust inform you.”

“Did I at least pass?”

“It wasn’t a question of passing or failing. It was a matter of determining if you realized that you are still the Winter Soldier.”

“I told you, I’m not that person anymore.”

“Yes, you are. You could live another sixty years and never touch a weapon again, but you will still be the Winter Soldier. The past is unchanging. You cannot undo what you have done, you can only decide what you will do next. You get to decide what the name ‘Winter Soldier’ means. Will you stay hidden or will you fight those who have wronged you? I think what transpired here answers that question rather thoroughly.” The woman said.

“What would you have done if I didn’t come here?” Bucky wondered.

“Dealt with them myself, and hoped it would repair things between Zahara and I. I miss my sister.”

“I need to call my director.” The ARGUS agent said suddenly.

“What? Why?”

“Because, if that woman is who I think she is, there’s only one way we’re getting any answers.” The agent stood and left.

“JARVIS, what happened next?” Steve asked.

The video began to play again. Barnes started to say something, but it couldn’t be heard over the screams of pain coming from a newly awakened Hydra agent with several bullets in his legs.

“Please give her my regards.” The mystery woman said as she left.

“She doesn’t want them.” Barnes replied. He began to restrain everyone and crouched next to a few bleeding people and started doing something the camera didn’t catch.

“What is he doing?”

“Making a tourniquet.” Coulson answered. “According to one of the prisoners, he said he didn’t want any of them bleeding out before they got arrested.”

“How many casualties?” Hill asked.

“Scott was the only casualty. Barnes knee-capped a lot of people but no one died.”

“That’s good, right? That Bucky isn’t killing anymore?”

Coulson, Hill and Natasha all opened their mouths to speak when the ARGUS agent came back into the room. “Stop the tape. Don’t look any further into this incident. Forget what you saw.”

“Why?”

“Because what’s happening is way bigger and more serious than we thought. The director said she’d explain when she got here.”

 

Six hours later, Lyla Michaels came storming out of the elevator. She looked very unhappy. “Tell me everything that happened. Start with last week.”

“We were in the middle of a discussion about Hydra when three masked men showed up and told us to stop looking for certain people.” Steve supplied.

“What exactly were you discussing?”

“Skye ran Felicity’s program and the search revealed over a dozen names that weren’t on our lists. Most of those people are either dead or missing. I asked your agent to request that you and Felicity discuss it.” Coulson answered.

“Did you try to contact her before telling the others?”

“No, I believed informing the Avengers was the best idea.”

“Has it occurred to you that she might have left those names off for a reason?”

“It did, which is why I wanted you to talk to her.” Coulson said defensively.

Lyla exhaled slowly. “Did any cameras record these intruders?”

“I did, Director Michaels.” JARVIS said.

“Play the tape.” The footage began to play and everyone watched in silence. When it was over, Lyla spoke again. “Well, that’s just great. Did anything else happen?”

Maria stepped forward holding a photo. “Five days ago, this was sent to my office. The man in the photograph was one of the missing Hydra members. We found his body the next day. He was tortured to death.” Lyla studied the photo. “There’s something on the back.”

“’Those without decency must be fought without hesitation, without pity’. Well, that doesn't disprove anything. Tell me about the tape from the FBI.”

“Sergeant Barnes took down a Hydra cell in Bludhaven last night. Towards the end of the operation, a woman appeared. She seemed to know Barnes.” The ARGUS agent explained.

“JARVIS, play the tape.” Tony ordered.

“Just skip to when the woman appears, please.” Lyla added. They watched the security footage again. As soon as the tape stopped playing, Steve, the ARGUS agent and Coulson began to explain.

“You see why I called you.” Agent Smith said.

“Is that woman the ‘Dawar Al-shams’ person our intruders mentioned?”

“What exactly is your theory and why did Smith react the way he did?”

“Stop talking all at once. One, Smith you did the right thing by calling me. Two, that is not Dawar Al-Shams, its way worse. Three, Smith reacted the way he did because it’s way worse.”

“So, who is she?”

“Her name is Nyssa al Ghul. Her father Ra’s al Ghul is the leader of an organization known as the League of Assassins.”

“League of Assassins is a myth.” Natasha said.

“No, it’s not. You saw three members here last week. They helped the Arrow defeat Slade Wilson’s army back in May. This situation just got a lot more complicated.” Lyla pulled out her phone and dialed a number.

“Hello?” a female voice on the other end said.

“The League is killing high-level Hydra members. Why?”

“I’d assume on the orders of Ra’s al Ghul.” The voice answered sounding slightly amused.

“What does Ra’s al Ghul want with Sergeant Barnes?”

“I don’t know anything about his business with Al-Jundi. His beloved could tell you more, about both of your questions. Then again, I think you already know that.”

“Can you give me anything useful?”

“I can tell you that as long as you don’t interfere, you don’t need to worry.” The woman then hung up.

“What was that about?” Tony asked.

“A friend of my ex-husband is a member of the League. I was hoping to weasel a few details out of her.” Lyla knew calling Sara had been a long shot.

“But she didn’t give you a real answer. Who was the beloved she mentioned?”

“Felicity. Al-Jundi is the League’s name for Barnes. They refer to someone’s significant other as their beloved.”

“So, it all circles back to Felicity Smoak.” Maria said. “How convenient.”

“Isn’t it?” Lyla said as she dialed the phone. “Felicity?”

“Yeah?”

“Why is the League killing Hydra members?”

“Let me guess, someone ran my program on an existing list and got a few…extra names. They kept digging and found many of them dead.”

“That’s exactly what happened. Also, a few members dropped by to give the Avengers a warning. Oh, and Nyssa helped Bucky take down a Hydra cell last night.”

“I actually knew about that last part.” Felicity admitted. “Can I assume I’m on speaker?”

“Yes.” Everyone else said, trying to save time.

“The League has been hunting people like Hydra for a very long time. I left certain names off of the lists I sent because I knew they’d be League targets and didn’t want to put anyone in the crossfire. That’s all I know.”

“What does the League want with Bucky?” Steve asked.

“At the moment, nothing. They’re on friendly-ish terms.”

“Can you contact Ra’s or Nyssa and ask them for more information?” Lyla suggested.

“No, nope, definitely not. Nein. Neit. And in the words of Darth Vader ‘NNOOOO!’ That’s not gonna happen. The League and Bucky are on okay terms but the League and I are not.  So, unless you want me to make this worse, I’m not getting involved.” Felicity began to rant. “Stay out of League business, keep me out of it and focus on the people you can actually apprehend. Goodbye.”

“Wait, hold on a second.” Phil yelled. “I just need to ask one question.”

“What is it?”

“Does the sentence ‘those without decency must be fought without hesitation, without mercy’ mean anything to you?”

“Sounds like something Ra’s would say. Where’d you hear it?”

“We got sent a photo of a dead Hydra member, he’d been tortured to death. The words were written on the back.”

“Not surprising. Like I said, stay out of their business.” Felicity then hung up.

“Why didn’t you ask her about Dawar Al-Shams?” someone asked Lyla.

“Because she is Dawar Al-Shams. Just like they refer to Barnes as Al-Jundi, they refer to Felicity as Dawar Al-Shams.”

“Is Felicity an assassin?” Skye asked incredulously.

“No, she just knows way too many of them.”

* * *

 

**Siberia**

A short thirty-something man ran through the hallways of the Hydra base, trying to find Baron von Strucker or his Russian counterpart. He found him in an observation room watching several Hydra members torture a brunette woman.

“Stop.” Strucker told the agents before turning to the man. “What is it Yakovlev?” the Baron asked.

“We identified the woman.” The man said as he tried to catch his breath.

“What woman?”

“The woman who the **_Soldat_** was transfixed by in Moscow. We’ve been trying to figure out her identity since then.”

“And why is this information important?”

“Because, we found her and she is known to the Avengers. She might be the way to bring the Asset out of hiding. The Colonel…expressed interest in this matter.” He handed Strucker a file. Inside was a series of photos. One was a blonde woman entering Stark Tower. Another showed the same woman and Captain America in Central Park. A third showed her, Tony Stark and Bruce Banner in a laboratory working on something.

“What is her name?”

“Felicity Smoak, Herr Strucker.”

“Find her, bring her here.” He then turned back to what he was doing. “Are you ready to comply, Wanda?”

“No. Fuck off.” The girl answered.

“Very well. Continue.” He said in a bored voice.

* * *

 

**Central City-Three days later**

Things had been going well in Starling for Felicity. Oliver wasn’t being a huge, broody killjoy, her business was picking up and, that phone call from Lyla aside, no world-shattering superhero business popped into her life to mess it up.

Of course, as soon as she so much as thought _Things are going really well_ Barry called with a huge metahuman problem that quote ‘only Felicity can solve’. So, the blonde hopped on a train and went to Central City for a few days. Barry’s metahuman turned out to not even be a metahuman, just a very skilled hacker with access to advanced tech. Now, it was time to head home.

Felicity’s taxi was driving through Central City towards the train station. The streets were mostly empty. In an effort to get home faster, she’d bought a ticket for a midnight train instead of waiting until morning. All of a sudden, something ran into the side of the cab and her head hit the window. She felt something else hit a different part of the taxi and heard a groan from the front seat. She heard a faint popping noise and saw a group of men in all black exit two black SUVs and move towards the car.

Felicity’s last thought before she lost consciousness was _I should’ve just let Barry run me to the train._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You hate me for the ending. I hate me for the ending. The next few chapters are not gonna be fun for any of us. 
> 
> Tell me how much you hate me, let me feel it, it fuels my writing.


	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity is missing, and in three separate cities, that becomes a problem.

**Central City**

Team Flash was leaving for the evening when one of the computers started going crazy. “Uh…Barry?” Cisco said.

“What?”

“There’s a car crash at 13th and Adams.”

“And?”

“Well, I’m looking at the traffic cams and its Felicity’s taxi. And it doesn't look quite right.” Barry was next to Cisco immediately.

“Is she okay?”

 They watched as a group of men surrounded the car. “I’ve got a really bad feeling about this.”

Barry was in his suit and out the door in seconds. He got to the intersection thirty seconds too late to catch either vehicle. He looked inside the cab and saw all of Felicity’s stuff and the dead taxi driver but no blonde. His eyes caught something reflective and he bent down to pick it up.

“Cisco, the taxi’s the only thing here.”

“I know. The masked whoever-they-were grabbed Felicity and drove off. I….I can’t see them on any of the other cameras.”

“Put all the footage on a flash drive. I gotta get to Starling.”

Cisco for once had nothing to say and did as Barry asked. Within ten minutes of Barry arriving back at Star Labs, he was on the way to Starling.

_Oliver’s gonna kill me._

* * *

 

**Starling City**

Team Arrow was down in the foundry sparring. Thea was down there as well, getting used to Felicity’s system when suddenly there was a gust of wind. The next thing they knew, a man in a red, skintight outfit was talking a mile a minute.

“We know the Flash? We know the Flash. I didn’t know we knew the Flash.” The short brunette said.

“BARRY! What is it?” Oliver asked.

“It’s Felicity. Something happened.” Barry finally managed to say.

“Don’t say anything else yet.” Sara said before walking over to her stuff and pulling out her phone. “It’s me…..I need you to come to the foundry….something happened to Felicity….I don’t know….Ok.” she turned back to the others. “Barnes is on his way.”

“Who’s Barnes?” Barry asked.

“Felicity’s boyfriend.” Oliver answered.

Everyone sat in silence until the door at the top swung open and Bucky stormed down the stairs. He was carrying a large duffel bag and looked ready to kill someone. “Where is she? What happened? Who is he?”

“Uh, I’m Barry Allen aka The Flash.” Barry said awkwardly. This guy was 100 times more intimidating than Oliver. “Wow, Felicity really likes dudes who are terrifying.”

“Where. Is. She?” he bit out.

“Um, I don’t know. She….she was on her way to the train station when another car ran into her taxi.” He plugged the flash drive into Felicity’s computers. “I didn’t get there in time to stop them.”

They watched one SUV hit the taxi, and then the other. They saw half a dozen men get out of the vehicles and surround the cab. One man pulled a gun and shot the driver. They grabbed Felicity and drove away.

“Cisco lost both vehicles on traffic cams as soon as they left the street.”

“It wasn’t an accident. It was an abduction.” Bucky said, mostly to himself. “Was any of her stuff missing? Anything out of the ordinary?”

“All her stuff was still there, except her phone. The only thing I found was this pin, it was under one of the wheels.” Barry handed it to Bucky, who took one look and dropped it as if it burned him.

“Fuck. This is bad, this is really bad. I knew something like this would happen.…it’s Hydra.” Everyone watched as his faced changed. Bucky Barnes turned back into the Winter Soldier. “Sara, call Nyssa, tell her what happened, find me a plane. John, is Lyla still in New York?”

“Yes.”

“Tell her to get ready for my arrival. Send this to her. Are you coming or what?” he addressed everyone else.

“It’s Felicity, of course we are.” Oliver answered and Barry nodded.

“I don’t think I will be much help. This is….way above my skill set” Thea said honestly. “Besides, someone has to stay behind, right? Just in case.”

Barnes nodded and turned to Sara, who’d just gotten off the phone. “She’s meeting us at the air field in half an hour. She’s calling Talia as we speak.”

* * *

 

**New York**

At approximately 2:57 am, Lyla Michaels was awoken from a dead sleep by her phone ringing. At 3:01 am, she was in a taxi driving to Stark Tower. At 3:19, she entered the building and told JARVIS there was an emergency. By 3:30 am, every alarm in the building, except the ones on Bruce’s floor, had gone off and the Avengers were waiting on the top floor. Coulson’s team had arrived and the rest of SHIELD was on its way.

“You wanna explain why you woke all of us up at 3am?”

Lyla pointed to the screen behind her where a video was waiting to play. “This is why. At approximately 11:37 pm in Central City, Felicity Smoak was in a car accident.” The video began to play. When the video was over, she spoke again. “The Flash was unable to prevent her abduction. He ran to Starling to inform the Arrow, who called Sergeant Barnes. He identified something left at the scene as a Hydra pin. Half an hour ago, one of her teammates called me to inform me that Barnes, The Flash and most of Team Arrow are on their way to New York to see you. Needless to say, none of them are in good moods.”

“When will they arrive?” Steve asked.

“Their plane left about five minutes ago. I’d like to have something to offer them when they get here.”

“Are we assuming this abduction was because of the information she gave us or her relationship with Barnes?” Natasha asked.

“We’re not ruling either scenario out.”

“JARVIS, surveillance of every train station, bus station and airport within 500 miles of Central City.” Tony ordered. “Do we know if she has her phone?”

“It was the only thing missing, they assumed she had it on her.”

“I’ll start pinging it.” Skye said rushing over to a computer.

“I’ll reach out to a few contacts, see if any satelittes happened to be over Central City at the time.” Hill said.

* * *

 

**Siberia**

Felicity woke up groggy. Clearly, after the accident, someone had given her a sedative. She sat up slowly and analyzed the room she was in. It was a dark, windowless room with two other beds and a single door. Only one of the beds was occupied by a dark haired woman who’s face she couldn’t see. She was asleep, muttering in a language she didn’t recognize. Both women jumped when they heard the door open.

“Ah, Miss Smoak. So nice of you to join us.” An older German man said looking down at her creepily. “I was worried Yakovlev might have given you too much sedative.” Felicity didn’t say anything in response. “You don’t feel like talking? That is okay. I imagine very soon you will tell me anything I want to know.” The man gave a parting look to the other woman before leaving and locking the door behind him.

“Where am I?” Felicity asked, finally speaking.

“Hydra base in Siberia.” The woman who was muttering said in a thick, Eastern European accent. She rolled over and went to sleep.” I’m Wanda. Sleep, you’ll need it.”

 

Outside the cell, a much different conversation was happening. Strucker left Felicity’s cell and immediately sought out the Russian man who ran the base.

“What news?”

“Yakovlev found the woman in Central City and has brought her to us.” Strucker answered.

“What is her name?”

“Felicity Smoak.”

“Give me time to research this woman. If I don’t need her, I tell you.”

“My team found her.” Strucker pointed out. He didn't want his prisoner being snatched up by the other man

“And yet, this is still my base, Strucker.” The Colonel said before stalking off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, one: I know cliffhanger, I suck.  
> two: I feel like 'Winter Soldier' mode is a state of mind for Bucky where he is so focused and zoned-in on something that its equally terrifying and impressive.   
> three: what do you think happens next?  
> four: next chapter is gonna be not-fun.


	29. Chapter 29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New York gets some visitors and Felicity's situation gets a little bleaker.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is not a fun chapter. There is torture, not graphic depictions, but still. You have been warned.

**New York**

Things were tense in Stark Tower. Everyone was worried about Felicity, and no one had any answers. In addition, a very agitated Winter Soldier was on his way and the only person who could definitely calm him down was the one they were looking for. Everyone sat on the top floor in nail-biting anticipation.

“Any news?”

“All I know is that they landed.” Lyla answered.

 Steve and Natasha both turned when they heard a noise approaching the building. They saw a large helicopter approaching the building. It landed on the helipad and several people exited. A man in a green hood with a bow and arrow, a younger man in a red hood, a blonde woman in black leather, a man in a skin-tight red bodysuit, a black man wearing a leather jacket, two people dressed like the assassin who broke in, the brunette woman from the FBI tape and finally, a brunette man with a metal arm and a grimace on his face.

Steve stood and moved forward when they entered the building. “Bucky I-“

“Not right now.” Barnes said holding up a hand. “Any news?”

“Traffic cams and the like were a bust.” Coulson said. “Skye is trying to ping Felicity’s phone for a location.”

“Trying being the operative word here. It’s like its designed to bounce off of cell towers.” The woman muttered.

“Are we just skipping over the fact that Barnes brought three assassins into my building?” Tony asked.

“Five, actually.” The blonde woman said. “Oh, don’t give me that look, Ollie.”

“Sara!” the man in green yelled.

“We already knew who you were, Mr. Queen.” Maria Hill explained. The new arrivals turned to look at Lyla.

“What? I didn’t tell them, and neither did Felicity.”

“Enough!” Bucky yelled. “We need to focus on finding Felicity, not worrying over how they know the world’s worst kept secret identity.”

“Barnes, take it down a notch, okay. We will find her.” The blonde said. “Hi, I’m Sara Lance. This is John Diggle, Oliver Queen, Roy Harper, Barry Allen, Nyssa al Ghul and two people who I only know as Sarab and Ubu.”

“Why are they here?” Tony asked pointing to the League members.

“Why are you?” Nyssa shot back.

 

Steve sat in the corner looking sad, so Sara walked over and sat next to him. “Hey, its nice to meet you officially and not through a phone call.”

“Wait, you’re the Sara who stole Bucky’s cake?”

“Yup. When I’m not stealing cake, I fight crime.” Sara said. She looked at where Steve was staring and sighed. “You know, it’s not that he doesn’t want to see you. He just needs to find Felicity first.”

“She’s important to him, isn’t she?”

“She’s the first person in a long time that made him feel like a person. And he wasn’t the only one she made feel that way. It’s hard to cope with the idea of someone that important to you being in danger. Why do you think the rest of us came here?”

 

Clint walked up to Oliver before anyone got a chance to stop him. “When this is over, she’s safe and I don’t have to worry about Barnes strangling me, we’re gonna see who’s better.”

“Everything going on right now, and you want to know how the better archer is?” Oliver asked.

“I already know who it is, I just need to prove a point to SOME PEOPLE!” Clint directed to someone in the room.

“I told you, Legolas. Beat your jolly green doppelganger and I’ll cave. Maybe.” Stark shot back. Stark turned back to what he was doing and everyone heard something break a second later. “We should find Smoakie first though, because Manchurian Candidate over here is looking very murder-y.”

 

The two teams spent the next eighteen hours alternating between sniping at one another and suggesting a new way to find Felicity. Oliver and Clint were one insult away from an all-out archer war when Barry’s phone rang. He looked down at it and gulped. “It’s Felicity.”

“Answer it.” Sara urged.

The speedster took a deep breath and hit ‘Answer’.

* * *

 

**Siberia**

Felicity was dragged into another room some time after Strucker left her cell. There wasn’t a clock or anything, so it could have been ten minutes or it could have been ten hours later. Two guards placed her in what looked like an interrogation room and left. A minute or two later, Strucker entered the room.

“Miss Smoak, I hope you find your accommodations suitable.” The Baron said. She didn’t answer. “Now, do you know why you are here?” She still didn’t answer. “Really? No clue? No inkling about why we would take you?” she just stared ahead. “Fine. To business then. Where is the Winter Soldier?”

“Who?”

“The Winter Soldier.”

“I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, you do. He was…quite taken with you back in November when he saw you in Moscow.”

“I still don’t know who that is, and you kidnapped me because someone looked at me six months ago?”

“Yes, you do know who he is!” Strucker then showed her most of the photos he’d been given by Yakovlev. “You know the Avengers, and you know the Soldier. Now, tell me where he is!”

“I told you, I have no idea what you’re talking about!”

“Yes, you do.” A man said calmly as he walked into the room. “I’m afraid this woman will not be used for your experiments Baron.”

“I thought you had no interest in her?” Strucker asked the man.

“I didn’t. Until I found this.” the man dropped a photo onto the table. It was a candid picture Sara had taken of her and Bucky right before she left for New York. The only copy of it was in her living room.  _If he has that picture, then that means. They were in my fucking house._  “The Soldier isn’t just an acquaintance of hers, he is her boyfriend. I must admit, it was….difficult to find.”

“And who exactly are you?” Felicity asked.

“Ah, it seems my manner have gone away from me. My name is Colonel Vasiliy Karpov, and I helped make your boyfriend into the man he is. Now, where is he?”

“I still don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Very well. I had hoped to do this the easy way. Don’t say I never gave you the chance to aid me willingly.” He turned and barked something in Russian behind him. Two men entered the room wheeling a cart. “Miss Smoak requires some…motivation to tell me what I want to know.” One of the men grinned and pulled a cattle prod off of the cart. “I will ask you one last time, where is the Winter Soldier?”

Felicity didn’t even attempt to respond. The man then hit her with the cattle prod. Karpov asked the question again, and Felicity gave the same silent answer. Cattle prod. Where is the Winter Soldier. Silence. Cattle prod. After the fourth time being shocked, he raised his hand and the man stopped.

“You know, it occurs to me that maybe I don’t need actually need any answers from you.” He said threateningly. “Bring me her phone.”

A few minutes later, someone entered the room holding the device. “Someone is clearly eager to find you.” he said sounding bored. “Ah, let’s see if Barry might be a little more useful.” He then dialed the phone.

“Hello?”

“Tell me, do you know someone called the Winter Soldier? Do you know where he is?”

“No. Where’s Felicity?”

“She is alive, for now.”

“Prove it.”

He nodded to one of the men who hit Felicity with the cattle prod once again. The blonde screamed. “As you can see, she is quite alive. Whether she remains that way depends on how much she’s willing to tell me.” Then he hung up, one of the guards walked over and broke three of the fingers on her left hand. Strucker gestured for the guard to continue but Karpov intervened.

“I think this is enough for now. We must allow her to….take a moment and consider her options.”

They undid her restraints and two guards dragged her to a different part of the facility. She was taken into what looked like an apartment and left there.

“You should tell Colonel Karpov what he wants to know.” Dr. List told her as he pushed her fingers back into place. “He will let you go.”

“No, he won’t. And I thought doctors took an oath to do no harm.”

“I did.”

“Clearly it meant nothing to you.”

“Such fire, Miss. It cannot last long around here.” the doctor stood and moved towards the door.

“Is there a reason why I get the fancy cell now?”

“It’s not a cell. The Colonel, he decided this was better suited for what he has in mind.” The doctor said closing the door.

* * *

 

**New York**

“Anything?” Bucky asked Skye and Stark as soon as the phone call ended.

“Nope, call wasn’t long enough.” Sara and Nyssa both stormed out of the room.  Diggle muttered ‘I need to go shoot something’ and left with Oliver and Roy. Bucky put his fist through the wall.

“They’re torturing her.” Barry said, knowing everyone else probably knew that.

“They need her alive. She can’t answer questions if she’s dead.” Someone was dumb enough to point out.

“If that’s supposed to calm me down, it isn’t.” Bucky threw out. His phone then rang. “Hello?”

“ _Have you found her?_ ” an unfamiliar, male British voice asked. 

“ _We haven’t_.”

“ _We are looking as well. I will alert you should we find her_.”

“ _Thank you. I will do the same_.” he then hung up. Bucky wished he could have met Ra's al Ghul before Felicity was taken. 

“Who was that?” Steve asked.

“Felicity’s father.”  _He leads the League of Assassins and he really isn't happy right now._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided Karpov would be worse to deal with than Strucker, especially for Bucky. So I made him the big bad of this part of the story.


	30. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things in Siberia get serious, and New York receives a surprising message.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I didn't make this clear enough last chapter, when I mentioned Felicity's father, I meant Ra's. 'Father' is a little easier than making Bucky explain how/why Ra's adopted Felicity.
> 
> Warning:mentions of torture but no actual torture.

**Siberia**

Based off of both when Felicity was fed, and when she was taken to be ‘questioned’, she had been a prisoner of Hydra for roughly two weeks. She assumed they letting her out of her cell for one meal a day and questioning her twice a day. In that time, she got to know the woman who was in her first cell Wanda. She learned Wanda had a twin brother who was also a prisoner. She’d meet Pietro once, when there was a power outage which damaged the equipment preventing the Maximoffs from using their abilities, and the silver-haired man tried to grab his sister and escape. Both siblings could do amazing, unexplainable things and Hydra wanted to turn them into weapons. Both had refused the offer.

She also spent that time trying to figure out how to get a message to someone. One day, she managed to steal a cell phone. She knew it was likely that Karpov let her take it, hoping she’d immediately use it to call for help. Thankfully, she wasn’t that stupid. She hid it in one of the bathroom vents, the only room without cameras. It took her roughly two days to locate all the hidden cameras and gauge the guards’ response time to her removing or covering the devices. 

“Do you think we’ll ever get out of here?” she asked one day.

“Pietro and I are orphans. No one look for us.” Wanda replied.

“My friends are looking for me.” Felicity said. “So are my sisters.”

“They will not find us.” Wanda replied.

“You don’t know my family.” _Or my husband. Between Nyssa, Talia and James, they’ll find me. I believe that, I have to believe that._ "They're gonna find me, and I'm not leaving you two here."

The door to the ‘mess hall’ opened and two guards grabbed Felicity. This time, instead of taking her to the normal interrogation room, they took her in a different direction and she wound up in a large open room. It looked like some kind of operating room.

“So nice to see you again.” The doctor said sinisterly as the guards strapped her to a table.

“What are you going to do to me?” she asked, fearing for her life.

“The good doctor is going to make you better.” Karpov said from a corner of the room. “Maybe then, you will comply.”

 Felicity saw the doctor approach her with a syringe in his hand. Then, everything went black. She woke up some time later, back in her ‘cell’, with a teenage girl looking her over.

“How….how long was I out?”

“Many hours, miss.” The girl answered. “The Colonel will be pleased.”

“Do you-what did they do to me?”

“I don’t know, they did not tell me.”

The girl went quiet when the door opened and two guards entered the room followed by Karpov. “Ah, you are awake. That is good. You survive the procedure.”

“What the fuck did you do to me?” Felicity asked angrily.

“I told you. The doctor make you better. Stronger.” Karpov replied calmly. “Will you tell me where he is?”

“No.”

“Very well. Gentlemen.” Karpov gestured to the two guards who grabbed Felicity and dragged her out of the room. “In time, you will see as he did, that compliance is rewarded.”

After a much more painful interrogation than she was used to, Felicity was taken back to her cell. She heard both guards walk away before dragging herself into the bathroom and taking the stolen phone out. She turned it on and sighed, she couldn't believe it had only been two weeks.

_This might be my one chance and they’re probably listening. Can’t call James, that’s what they want. Who do I call? Its felt like so much longer. Anyway, back to my current problem. Other than me, who’s the best at tracking a cell signal? Skye, maybe, but I don’t know if SHIELD knows about this. Tony has the same issue. JARVS could but that brings up the same issue again. Do they even know? Barry would be the first person to know something happened, he would’ve called Oliver who would’ve called James. Would James have reached out to SHIELD, ARGUS or the League? Let’s hope he did, and let’s hope someone understands what I’m really saying._

* * *

 

**New York**

Everyone was having another circular discussion about finding Felicity when Bucky decided he’d had enough. He slammed his hand onto the table and everyone shut up.

“This isn’t working. None of you have said anything we didn’t think of two week ago. Hydra has had fourteen days to do who-knows-what to Felicity and we’re still stuck at Square One.”

“No, we aren’t. We’ve invaded how many Hydra bases? We’ve managed to rule out the US and most of Western Europe. It might be slow progress but its progress.” Digg pointed out. “And you’re not the only person worried.”

“That still leaves Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. Not to mention the rest of North and South America.” Bucky rebutted.

“Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, but the security system registered a phone call from abroad roughly one minute sixteen second ago.”

“Who’s getting phone calls from Russia?” Tony asked and everyone pulled out their phones.

“Pardon me sir, but I did.” JARVIS answered. “As you know, you assigned me a phone number in case someone wished to converse with me via text. The caller left a message. Shall I play it?”

“Why not?”

“Hey, Ollie, its me. I’m sorry I’ve been so busy.” Felicity’s voice said. Everyone either gasped or started tearing up. “I, uh, I know its not fair to ask but I need you to deliver a message for me. Several actually. Tell Barry this isn’t his fault, sometimes signals just get crossed. And tell Nyssa she was right about that work trip in November.  I need you to tell James that….well, he already knows.”

On the other end of the phone, they heard a bang, followed by yelling.

**_“What do you think you’re doing?!”_** a scuffle could be heard on the other end. Roughly thirty second later, a voice spoke.

“Oh, and tell Sara she’s wrong, Krav Maga is way more useful than Wing Chun against multiple opponents.”

**_“Take her back to the lab.”_** Barnes froze and his hands began to shake.

The call ended.

“She called me Ollie.” Oliver said. “Felicity never calls me Ollie. Said it was a stupid nickname for an adult.”

“Well, we know that and she knows that, but Hydra might not. She wouldn’t call you that unless she knew the call wasn’t secure. She thinks someone’s listening.”’ John said. “Or someone made her make that call.”

“I’m trying to trace the signal, sir.” JARVIS said.

“No need, I know exactly where she is.” Bucky said.

“How?”

“The male voice at the end? He was the Winter Soldier’s main handler. She’s at a base in Siberia.”

“How many Hydra bases are there in Siberia?” Steve asked.

“Just the one where they made me.” Bucky answered. _The one where they unmade me._ He turned to everyone. “We leave in twenty minutes. If you’re not on the jet, you’re not coming.”

“Barnes we need a plan. We can’t just fly to Russia and-“ Barry began to say.

“Yes we can! You don’t want to come, fine. But the only good thing that happened to me in the last seventy years is in Russia being tortured. If something happens to her, I will lose my goddamn mind. I’m not leaving her there one second longer than I have to. I don’t care if I have to kill half of the Russian population to find her. I’m getting her back. You can help me or you can stay out of my fucking way. Your choice.”

“Well said, Sergeant Barnes. Although it might be too early in the day for genocide.” A voice said from the elevator. “Felicity chose her beloved well.”

“Talia.” Barnes replied.

“I heard her message and informed Father. The League is preparing to travel to Russia as we speak.”

“Is anyone gonna explain why the League of Assassins cares so much about Felicity?” Clint asked. “I’m not complaining about extra help, but-“

“Because, she’s my youngest sister.” Talia explained.

“Wait, so Felicity’s father, the one who keeps calling Barnes, is Ra’s al Ghul, the leader of the League of Assassins.” Lyla asked.

“Yes.” Talia answered.

“Felicity is the daughter of Ra’s al Ghul?” Everyone except Sara asked.

“Yes! One of his favorites, in fact.” Nyssa said. “Let’s go save our sister, shall we?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Felicity gave a lot of information in that message.  
> "Hey Ollie"=I don't know if they're listening/if Team Arrow isn't there, contact them.  
> "sometimes signals just get crossed"=trace this call  
> "that work trip back in November"= I'm in Russia  
> "Krav Maga is way more useful than Wing Chun against multiple opponents."= there are A LOT of Hydra here.


	31. Chapter 31

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky arrives in Siberia.

**Siberian Base**

“I suppose you think you are smart.” Karpov said, staring Felicity down. “You got a message out without explicitly telling them or us where the other is. I must give you credit for that. Too bad this all could have been avoided.”

“And how is that?”

“If you had told me where the **_Soldat_** was from the beginning, you would have been spared a lot of pain. And been free to leave.”

“No, I wouldn’t have. I’m not stupid, you were never going to let me go. This way, at least he isn’t stuck here with me.”

“But he will be. He will be on the way here soon I expect. Then, I will have both you and him and Hydra will thrive once again.”

* * *

 

**Quinjet**

“Ok, I know your plan was ‘show up, find Felicity and shoot anyone in the way’ but what’s the actual plan?” Roy asked on the jet.

“Barry uses his speed to get the door down and we keep the guards off his back while he does it. Right inside the door on the left is the control panel for the security system. Disable it. We get inside, we split off into groups and each take a wing of the compound. Shoot anyone that gets in the way. Radio when you find something.” Bucky answered as he continued to load his guns.

“What about any other prisoners?” Steve asked. “There’s a chance Felicity isn’t the only person they have.”

“Get them out of the building.”

“What about you?” Digg asked.

“I’m gonna find Felicity and kill Karpov.”

“What about after we find Felicity?”

“Get her out, secure the base and wait for SHIELD and ARGUS.” Bucky responded a little agitated. All of this was common sense, he didn't know why people kept asking questions.

“What happens if this is a trap or Karpov manages to trigger you?” Natasha asked.

“Talia and I are going with him. We’ll deal with it.” Nyssa said. Both women were completely prepared to knock Bucky into next week if they had to.

* * *

 

**Siberian Base**

Bucky, Team Arrow, Nyssa, Talia, Barry, the Avengers, Hill, May, Skye and two League members got off of the Quinjet which had landed, camouflaged, just inside the fence surrounding the facility. Bruce was staying on the jet, the Hulk plus an underground base wasn’t a good idea and he had the most medical training of everyone there. A number of rusted out vehicles and machinery provided good cover as they scoped the area out. As soon as they disembarked, an assassin stepped out from behind one of the vehicles.

_ “We are in position.” _

_“Good.”_ Bucky and Talia said at once.

Talia then added. _“Hold the perimeter, let no one escape. Kill any soldiers. Anyone of value goes to Nanda Parbat._

“Red, you’re up.” Tony said as Barry sped off.

Felicity was sitting in her room when suddenly, alarms started going off. Roughly thirty seconds later, Karpov opened the door, grabbed her by the arm and dragged her down the hall. “It is show time.”

 

The only problem with Barry’s suit was that red stood out very easily in Siberia. Clint, Digg, Oliver, Roy and Bucky had their work cut out for them trying to keep the guards off Barry’s back while he worked.

After what felt like hours, Barry finally said. “Door is dealt with.” A few seconds later, he added. “Security system is down.” Everyone then ran towards the building.

Being the first person in the building, Barry decided to just take the wing directly to his left. He informed the others and took off. The first few floors were just offices and empty barracks. Barry didn’t run into anyone until he saw a door slam open, a man being thrown through the doorway, and a silver-haired man run out.

“You didn’t see that coming?” the man said to the knocked-out Hydra member. He then turned to Barry. “You are here to find someone, yes?”

“Yeah, I’m looking for a blonde woman named Felicity. She’s a friend of mine.”

“She is here, I don’t know where. I need to find my sister.” The man then sped off at an unbelievable speed. Or at least, unbelievable for anyone except Barry Allen.

“Uh, guys. There are other prisoners here. I ran into one, he’s like me. He says she’s here.”

“Did he say where?”

“Nope, ran off too quickly.” It was weird, meeting another speedster. Barry knew there were others, but seeing one in person in Siberia of all places was unexpected.

 

When the alarms stopped going off, a guard entered Wanda’s cell.

“Sorry, we need to go.” The man waved the gun in her, and gestured for the her to start moving. A few steps away from the door, Wanda felt a sudden rush of energy. She held up her hand and a red current of energy started to appear.

“I think not.” Wanda said before sending the energy at the man. The gun fired. He was knocked into the wall behind him. She looked down to make sure she hadn’t been hit.

“Remind me never to piss you off.” A female voice said from the doorway. Sara, Oliver, Roy and Digg were standing there.

“You are friend of Felicity? She said someone come looking for her.” Wanda asked.

“Yes, we’re friends of Felicity’s. I’m Sara. Do you know where she is?”

“They move her to different part of facility. I find my brother and we help you look.” Wanda promised.

“Are you sure? We can take you somewhere safe right now.” Oliver asked.

“She promise not to leave us here. I not leave her here.” Wanda said forcefully.

 

Wanda and Pietro found one another about ten minutes later. They went with Team Arrow to search the western quadrant of the facility. As Bucky stalked further and further towards the room that gave him nightmares, he heard everyone else talking on the comms.

“We found two prisoners, no Felicity.”

“Nothing except Hydra agents in the south wing.”

“This wing is just Hydra and paperwork.”

“Nothing.”

 

At the door leading into the hallway where he was ‘stored’ for many years, there was an entire battalion of Hydra agents outside. “I need everyone to head to the east wing, bottom floor. We’ve got company.” Talia whispered into her comm.

Soon, everyone except Clint, Digg and Tony were creeping down the stairwell. They regrouped out of the troops sight.

“What’s the plan?” Steve asked.

“We fight long enough for myself, Nyssa or Talia to get through the door and get Felicity.”

“How do we know she’s even still here?”

“No one’s left the building without someone seeing it. They wouldn’t have that many guards if something important wasn’t back there.” Bucky replied. “On three.”

Then, all hell broke loose. Bullets went flying, arrows went soaring, Steve’s shield hit several people in the face, Sara’s bo staff knocked a lot of people on their ass. Bucky shot numerous men in the head. Talia had brought all the knives she owned and was throwing them. Nyssa was sword fighting against a man wielding a shock baton. Soon, that man was headless. Just when the numbers started to dwindle, more Hydra members arrived ready to fight.

“Buck, go!” Steve yelled. “We got this.”

He nodded to Steve and headed through the door. The hallway was dark and silent, which put Bucky on edge. He’d grown used to silence over the years, but darkness and silence he was unaccustomed to. He crept forward, but no one emerged from the shadows to attack. At the very end of the hallway, there was another door. Bucky pushed it open.

“ ** _Soldat_**. It is nice to see you.” Karpov’s voice said sounding amused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's probably the worst cliffhanger I've done so far.


	32. Chapter 32

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky comes face-to-face with a ghost from his past and Felicity fulfills a promise.

**Earlier**

“Colonel, we are under attack.” Someone ran into Karpov’s office saying.

“Soldat has returned to us, and brought a few friends. Let me guess, the Avengers?” Karpov asked without looking up. He had counted on the Winter Soldier bringing the Avengers to rescue his ladyfriend. Karpov had doubled the security as a precaution.

“The Avengers are here, yes, but they did not come alone.” This made Karpov look up.

“How many more?”

“Several dozen.”

Karpov stood and began barking orders. “Tell half the men to stay in position, inform the other half to report to the bottom level northern corridor.” He sprinted from the room to find Felicity.

 

When Karpov finally let go of Felicity’s arm, they were in what looked like Frankenstein’s laboratory. Two guards had followed them in and dragged Felicity over to a large chair surrounded by machines. They restrained her and turned the machine on. Karpov walked over and forced a mouthhguard into Felicity’s mouth. “This will hurt.” He nodded to one of the guards who pressed a button. A second later, an indescribable pain shot through Felicity’s entire body. After what felt like hours, it stopped. Felicity slumped down and lost consciousness. 

“Take her into the next room. If she wakes before I return, keep her occupied.” Karpov handed a guard something. “I took this from one of the fools trying to infiltrate this base. See how developed her fighting skills are.”

* * *

 

**Present**

“ ** _Soldat_**. It is nice to see you.” Karpov’s voice said sounding amused. **_“You have finally returned home.”_**

**_“Where is Felicity?”_ **

**_“Your girlfriend is through this door.”_** As he spoke, the lights turned on. Karpov was pointing at a door behind him. The room they were in was empty except for the two men and the machine Hydra used to wipe him. **_“I did not want to hurt her, but she was just so stubborn.”_**

**_“Let her go_** _.”_ Bucky said, his hand flexing around his machine gun.

**_“Why would I do that? She’s the key to making you cooperate. I realized, seeing her, the one thing we did not give you when we made you. We gave you orders and skills, we gave your purpose, but we never gave you a motivation. Now, we can with her.”_ **

**_“I’m the one you want.”_ **

**_“You were. Now, however, I have a need for both of you. Felicity, she is the leverage we never had before. She is also….far more resourceful and skilled than I anticipated. In time, she will comply. You have come home and home you will stay, and she will stay here with you. When you behave, you may see her. When you do not, well, I know how high your pain tolerance is, I’m curious to learn_** **_about hers. Think of how perfect it will be, just the two of you. The Fist of Hydra and what Felicity will soon become.”_**

**_“No.”_ **

 “ ** _I am not offering you a deal. I am explaining what will happen next. You will never escape us, but if you put down the gun, and surrender, I will let your foolish friends leave.”_** Bucky didn’t put the gun down, but he loosened his hold on it. **_“I knew you would see things my way. Give me the gun and you can see her before we fix you.”_**

“What’s happening?” Steve asked over the radio.

“Karpov’s trying to convince him to stand down. We’ll get to leave, but Felicity and him have to stay. Barnes, don’t be stupid! ** _”_** Natasha yelled into the comms.

"Oh, there is no way in Hell that is happening." Someone said in response. A grunt could be heard, followed by, "Somebody cover me." 

“ _She_ _would not want you to do this, brother._ ” Nyssa said.

“I have to.” Bucky replied. _“It’s the only way to keep her safe."i have to keep her safe_

“If you are trying to plan something, at least have the courtesy to do it in a language we all speak and where we can all hear.” Karpov remarked. “Now, put the gun on the floor before I have to make Felicity suffer for your insubordination.”

As Bucky bent down to place the gun on the floor, the door behind him slammed open. An ear-piercing shriek could be heard a second later. Bucky covered his ears on instinct; Karpov was knocked backwards into a wall. Bucky turned and saw Sara standing in the doorway wearing a glowing collar of some kind. He rushed over and kicked the man in the head, knocking him out. Sara and he ran over to the door Karpov had pointed to. Sara attempted to pick the lock.

“What the hell was that?” Bucky asked.

“Sonic device. I developed it after I first joined the League, Felicity was helping me improve it. She calls it the Canary Cry.”

“Well, it clearly works.”

They heard the sounds of a fight. Bucky practically tore the door off its hinges and they went inside. The first thing they saw was a prone male body, followed by a trail of blood. As the door opened wider, they noticed there were multiple bodies in the room and a lot of blood. Standing in the center of the room was one very alive and very blood-covered, Felicity Smoak. She was holding a bloody sword.

“I knew you’d find me.” She said, about to cry.

“We found her.” Sara said into her comm.

Bucky ran over to Felicity and hugged her, ignoring the blood and just cherishing the fact that she was here. After a few seconds, his protective instincts kicked in. “Are you ok?  You’re hurt. Where are you hurt?”

“It’s….its not my blood.” Felicity said awkwardly. “They….he brought me down here, and he did something, I must have passed out. And when I woke up, one of them gave me this. He was going to attack me so I killed him.” Felicity said gesturing to the sword. “I….I don’t remember the rest.”

“How’d you win a sword fight against eight men armed with machine guns?” Bucky asked.

“She trained in Nanda Parbat.” Sara supplied.

“I also….we don’t always watch movies during Girl’s Night.” She admitted. “Being the damsel in distress all the time gets old.”

“We need to go.” Sara said ushering the two out of the room. Bucky handed Felicity one of his handguns ‘just in case’. On their way out, Karpov was no longer knocked out in the hallway. Either he’d woken up and run off, a Hydra member rescued him or someone from the League had grabbed him. Everyone was hoping for the last. They didn’t run into anyone else, friend or foe, for most of their journey out of the building. As they were about to head turn down one of the last hallways to the front door, Felicity stopped.

“Wait, did you get Wanda and Pietro out?”

“Yeah, We got them out.”

“Ok, did you also find anything?”

“No, you were the priority. SHIELD or ARGUS can figure out the rest.” Bucky answered.

_Good, that means you haven’t found my records or Wanda’s or Pietro’s._

“Miss Smoak, as soon as we find anything, I’ll let you know.” Coulson said. “Let’s get you home.”

“Ok.” She said confused. Something about the man seemed familiar. The adrenaline of the situation was wearing off.

The trio turned the corner and Barry, her sisters and her team was waiting.

Before she could blink or process anything, she found herself being hugged by Barry.

“Sorry guys, I got super speed, I get the first hug.” Barry told an agitated looking Oliver. “Felicity, I’m so sorry. I should’ve been there. If I was faster, I could’ve-“

“Barry. Stop. How are you here? You were struck by lightning, you were in a coma last time I saw you. When did you wake up?” Felicity asked. Bucky, Nyssa and Sara exchanged looks. Losing her memory while being held by Hydra could only mean one thing. Felicity pulled away from Barry who looked sad.

“Felicity, I woke up from my coma six weeks ago.” Barry admitted. “You came to visit me.”

“Oh, I don’t remember that. Why don’t I remember-“

“Hey, its ok. We’ll figure it out.” Bucky said trying to reassure her. He was the only one who knew how being in this situation felt, how helpless it felt and how jarring the experience was.

“Ok. Hey guys.” Felicity said when she focused back on her team.

“Don’t ever scare us like that again.” Digg said. Oliver just nodded.

“Nice to see you, Blondie.” Roy said.

“Move Mister Queen before my patience has run out.” Talia said seriously. “You had us worried.”

Felicity hugged Talia, and just before they broke apart, the blonde whispered something in her ear. The elder woman nodded slightly and promised to take care of it.

Felicity smiled and turned to face the whole group. “Thanks for finding me guys. Needless to say, I totally owe you guys like an eternity’s worth of favors.”

Everyone shrugged and headed towards the door, only to find their path blocked. By Karpov and a dozen Hydra agents.

“I must admit, you have been worthy adversaries.” Karpov said. **_“But I am done playing games.”_** He gestured to the man next to him, who handed him a red journal with a black star on it. Bucky and Felicity both tensed which only about half the group noticed.

Felicity felt James’ arm around her waist tighten, almost as if he was bracing himself. He was afraid of the journal. She felt uneasy around it; ever since Karpov did whatever he did to her, he brought it out whenever he spoke to her and consulted it quite frequently. She looked up at Bucky and saw how terrified he was. She shifted a little closer to him.

“ ** _Longing. Rusted. Furnace. Daybre-”_**

Before Karpov could get the next word out, he fell to the ground with a hole in his head. “I told you I would kill you.” Felicity said as she lowered the gun.

A millisecond later, everyone started fighting. Oliver, Roy and John each shot a Hydra agent. Sara was fist-fighting one. Barry was running around punching everyone he could. Bucky opened fire the second Karpov fell. Felicity was making good use of the sword. Between Nyssa and Talia, the remaining three went down.

After taking a few moments to breathe, they began to head outside, and Felicity bent down to pick up the journal Karpov was holding. She held it out to Bucky who looked at it like it was going to burn him and she dropped her arm. Talia made some excuse about regrouping with the League and turned to walk back into the compound. Outside, the Avengers were about five second away from storming the building a second time when they finally exited.

“We heard shots.” Steve said, wanting to know what happened.

“Karpov. He’s dead.” Felicity answered feeling numb. “Who are all of you?”

Steve looked horror-struck, everyone else looked different varying degrees of sad and angry.

“Are we not gonna talk about how she’s covered in blood?” Tony asked. “Or why she has a sword?”

“Take it from someone with experience. No one covered in blood ever wants to talk about it.” Clint answered.

“And swords are badass, okay.” Roy defended.

“Can we get out of this damn country now? It sucks.” Felicity remarked.

They walked towards the quinjet and were about to get on when one of the prisoners SHIELD had grabbed broke free. The man stood, grabbed a weapon from the nearest SHIELD agent and yelled. “This changes nothing! We will take the Soldat back! Hail Hydra!” He fired four shots at the group before May put two bullets into his chest.

“Anyone hit?” Steve asked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Karpov used the memory-erasing machine on Felicity. I feel like it would take more than just one use to erase everything, the effect is cumulative. So, Felicity's missing some stuff but not everything. We'll find out the extent of her memory loss and what if any conditioning she was given in a few chapters.


	33. Chapter 33

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone's been shot, SHIELD's search isn't completely successful and memory is a tricky thing.

“Anyone hit?” Steve asked.

“Yeah.” Felicity gasped. “I really hate this country.” She was grasping her shoulder.

“What are you all standing around for?!” Bucky yelled as he picked her up. “Get on the damn plane!”

This snapped everyone out of their stupor and they rushed onto the jet. As soon as they were onboard, the jet took off and Bruce was called over to look at Felicity.

“I don’t suppose Digg brought those special aspirins?” Felicity asked.

“Special aspirins?” everyone asked him.

“Last time she got injured, I gave her oxycodone and she was convinced they were aspirins.” Diggle explained. “And sorry, but I didn’t.”

“I didn’t bring that, but I brought some painkillers just in case. Where were you hit?” Bruce asked as he handed her two pills.

“Shoulder. It doesn’t really hurt that much though.” Bucky took a step back, medical-related things still made him uneasy.

“Man with metal arm who stares at Felicity. I need to talk to you.” Wanda said from her spot next to Pietro.

“My names Barnes.”

“I’m Wanda. That’s not why I need to talk to you.” She gestured him over and he obliged. She started to whisper. “The doctor did something to her. She doesn’t know what. You need to find the files.”

Bucky stood up and looked troubled. He went back to where Felicity was.

* * *

 

**Siberian Base**

“Why are we always the ones on clean-up and catalog duty?” Skye asked as she grabbed another box full of files to start going through.

“Because we’re SHIELD agents and the Avengers aren’t.” Tripp answered. “They get to save the day, we get all the paper work.”

“Some of them are hurt and you aren’t.” May added as she entered the room. “Did you find anything of interest?”

“Not yet. No one in these files is still alive.” Skye said gesturing to the box she’d already been through. “There also all in Russian, so translating them is taking some time.”

“Keep looking. Bag everything.”

Ten minutes later, Skye spoke up. “I think we’re looking in the wrong place.”

“What do you mean?”

“These files….they’re all marked with ‘Experiment Failure’ or something like that. Every single one of them. This room wasn’t even locked. They didn’t think any of this was valuable.”

“So, we’re missing all of the successes.”

“Yeah, I mean, if you were an evil Hydra guy, and you were experimenting on people, where would you hide those files?”

“Medical lab.” They said at the same time.

Both ran out of the room and found Coulson to ask where the medical wing of the facility was. There turned out to be two. Skye and May took the one in the east wing, Tripp and Coulson took the west wing. Both pairs worked in silence, the dark and abandoned feeling of the facility was starting to creep everyone out. It took SHIELD and ARGUS five hours to get every file straightened out.

As they got back onto the Bus, Skye walked up to Coulson. “We have a tiny problem”

“What is it?”

“We didn’t find any records about Felicity or the Wonder twins. The twins are referenced in other files, but its almost like Hydra didn’t want to leave a papertrail about Felicity.”

“That’s……unfortunate.”

Unbeknownst to SHIELD or ARGUS, everything the Siberian Hydra base had on Pietro, Wanda, Felicity and a certain ex-Fist of Hydra was already on its way to New York.

* * *

 

**Quinjet**

“How’s it look?” Felicity asked Banner.

“Well, it’s a through-and-through, and it didn’t hit anything vital, so that’s good. You gotta keep pressure on it.”

“What’s the last thing you remember before being at the base?” Sara asked.

Clearly Felicity remembered Bucky, Team Arrow and Barry, but didn’t know Barry wasn’t comatose. She also didn’t know the Avengers. Knowing Barry meant she remembered the past December. She wasn’t surprised to see Bucky, so she had to remember beating Slade Wilson, which happened back in May. It was early July, so at most she was only missing two months of her life.

“It’s….there are bits and pieces. I remember finding out Oliver was the Arrow, but I don’t remember meeting him. I was really sad in late 2008, but I don’t know why. Whatever caused this, it didn’t erase them in any specific order. I’ll tell you what I remember from the last few months. We stopped Slade and I got Amanda Waller arrested. James and I got back together. Things were good in Starling for a while, I think I might've even made friends. Then I don’t remember anything for a while. Next thing I recall is that I visited my dad and got into a fight with him and my sisters. James and I got into a fight before I went….somewhere. Then nothing until I woke up in that base.” Felicity said swaying a little bit. “I’m just…..I’m gonna go to sleep now.” She started to lose consciousness.

Bucky was kneeling in front of her before she passed out. “Felicity, honey, I need you to stay with me, okay. You can’t fall asleep.”

“I’m so tired though.” She said weakly.

“I know, honey, I know. And when we get home, you can sleep as much as you want, but you need to stay awake right now. Ok, you can’t fall asleep before we make sure you’re not hurt.” Bucky turned to Tony who was flying the jet. “Can’t this thing go any faster?”

“I’m sorry, I thought you wanted a nice, leisurely flight back to New York.” Tony remarked sarcastically.

“James….” Felicity said in a quiet voice.

“Yes?”

“I….I need you to know….” Felicity didn’t finish. He turned and saw her eyes were closed.

“No!” Bucky yelled. “Come on, don’t do this to me! I….I can’t…I need you.”

Her eyes opened and she sighed. “Sorry, I can’t really keep my eyes open.” Felicity said as she sagged against Bucky. “I’m sorry, I…you were right, I was being reckless. I…..I should’ve listened to you.”

“You can apologize to me later, ok. Right now, just stay awake.” She leaned over and whispered something to Bucky who nodded and stood. “I’ll go get her.”

Bucky walked over to Nyssa and more or less pushed the woman over to Felicity.

“There’s something I need to say.”

“It can wait.”’ Nyssa said.

“No, I need to say this now.” Felicity rasped. “I’m sorry I was such a bitch to you these last few weeks, I….I guess I wanted to hurt you as much as I was hurting. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. Thank you for finding me.”

“You’re my sister. You needed my help. No matter how angry you are with me or I am with you, I will always be there when you need me.”

* * *

 

**New York**

The next few hours were the most stressful of Bucky’s life, and given his last seventy years, that was saying a lot. After what felt like an eternity, Tony announced that they were landing at Stark Tower shortly.

“When we land, I’ll run her to medical. What floor?” Barry said.

“63rd, its only two floors down. Simmons should be down there waiting.”

“No, I’m not going to medical.” Felicity yelled. Clearly, her exhaustion had lessened somewhat.

“Felicity, you need to-“

“No, I don’t. I need someone to look at my shoulder; there are at least four people here who can do that. I don’t need to go to medical, I don’t want to go to medical, and I am not going to medical.”

“You almost passed out like three times.” Clint said.

“I’ve had a stressful few weeks. When do you think the last time I slept was? I’m not concussed or seriously injured, I’m just exhausted.”

She was approaching Loud Voice territory, so everyone dropped it. A few minutes later, the jet landed and everyone disembarked. The Avengers dispersed for their individual post-mission rituals. Nyssa left to call Ra’s. Oliver and Diggle went to change into normal clothes and call Thea and Lyla respectively. Roy had a few minor injuries and went to the medical floor. Wanda, Pietro, Bucky and Felicity immediately got into an elevator and disappeared. Sara guessed where they were headed and went after them.

 

When Felicity had visited New York the first time, Tony had given her a floor in the tower after the second day. This was where Bucky, Nyssa and Sara had stayed when they were looking for her. Roy, Oliver and Digg were on the floor below them. Sara knew Bucky was most likely to take her there once they got back. Shortly after arriving, her assumption was proven right. Wanda, Pietro, Felicity and Bucky were sitting in the living room. The blonde had gotten a wet cloth and was trying to get all of the blood off of her.

“Hey.” She said from the elevator. “I know you don’t want a doctor, but you need to get that looked at. May I?”

“What? Yeah.” Felicity answered as she removed her jacket. The other three turned away to give her some privacy. “Did you meet Wanda and Pietro?”

“Yup. We found Wanda and were about to help her deal with a guard. Turns out, she didn’t need our help. Met Pietro a couple minutes later.” Sara said before turning back to face Felicity. “That isn’t possible.”

“What?” Bucky, Pietro and Wanda asked.

“The bullet wound, its healed.” Sara said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to give Felicity gaps in her memory rather than just lose all memories during a specific period of time. 
> 
> Hydra's plan was to wipe her, see what she remembered and then immediately wipe her again, and repeat that procedure until everything was gone. With each successive wipe, the gaps would get bigger and bigger. Luckily, they only got to use it once on her.


	34. Chapter 34

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phone calls are made, questions go unanswered and someone says goodbye. Decisions are made and Felicity hacks JARVIS(again)

**New York**

“What do you mean its healed?”

“I mean that there’s a scar where the bullet went in, there’s a scar where it came out. Everything in between is healed.” Sara admitted.

“How is that possible?” Pietro asked.

“The doctor. Whatever he did must have caused this.” Bucky said. _Please don’t let it be what I think it is._

“It did. ‘The good doctor is going to make you better’. That’s what Karpov told me.” Felicity said to no one in particular. “’Next thing I remember, I was back in my cell and he was happy that I survived ‘the procedure’. I never got him to tell me what they did.”

* * *

 

**Starling City-Thea’s Apartment**

“I don’t like this.” Thea told Laurel. “Ollie said they had a lead almost a day ago. We should’ve heard something by now.”

“I don’t know what to tell you. He’s called every time a lead was a bust, maybe the radio silence is a good thing.”

“Or maybe he hasn’t called because he can’t. Because it was a trap and something happened.”

“He’s with the Avengers, SHIELD, ARGUS, the League, the scariest man I’ve ever met and the fastest man alive, plus he’s got Digg, Roy and Sara. Hard to beat a team like that.” Laurel reasoned.

Thea was about to snipe back when her phone rang. “Ollie?!”

“Hey, Speedy.” Oliver’s exhausted voice said.

“What happened? Are you ok? Did you find anything?” Thea blurted out.

“A lot happened. I’m okay, so is everyone else. We found Felicity.”

“Is she okay? Is she alive? She is alive, right?”

“She’s alive, and that’s all I know right now. She, uh, something happened to her there.”

“What happened Ollie?”

“I don’t know exactly what, no one does, but Felicity only remembers bits and pieces of the last few months.”

“So she doesn’t remember us.” Laurel said.

“I’m saying that I don't know if she does, so you need to brace yourselves just in case."

* * *

 

**Nanda Parbat**

Ra’s was in the temple awaiting his soldiers’ return when a League member approached. “Pardon the intrusion, my liege.”

“What is it, Kirigi?”

“Lady Nyssa has made contact. She says there are matters she must discuss with you regarding Lady Zahara’s state.” The man said.

“Very well.” Ra’s said before leaving the room. He headed into a lower level of the fortress where the League’s few modern devices were held. Everyone bowed and left as he entered the room and he walked over to the dial phone that was off the hook.

_ “Yes?” _

_ “Father, we have found Zahara and taken her to New York.” _

_ “How is she?” _

_ “Her physical wounds have been seen to, her emotional state is another matter.” _

_ “Prisoners?” _

_ “One of the leader of the base and a doctor were apprehended and our comrades are transporting them to Nanda Parbat. The other base leader is not with them.” _

_ “You allowed such a man to escape?” _

_ “No, Father. Zahara killed him when he attempted to place Al-Jundi under their control once again.” _

_“Your sister has taken a life?”_ This news both surprised and worried Ra’s. Felicity never wanted to kill anyone. Having now taken a life, those closest to her wondered how guilt might affect her. Ra’s knew from experience that the first kill, regardless of reason, was the most difficult.

_“Yes. It is possible more than one in this endeavor.”_ Nyssa answered.

_ “Very well, my child. I shall arrive in New York two days time. Inform your sisters.” _

* * *

**New York**

Felicity, Bucky, Wanda and Pietro ended up falling asleep in the living room shortly after Sara’s revelation. The exhaustion of the last few weeks, for Felicity and Bucky, and the last few months, for the twins, finally caught up to them. They awoke roughly ten hours later, unsure of what to do.

“What happens to us?” Wanda asked. “Will they send us back to Sokovia?”

“Do you want to go back? If you want to go back, I’ll find a way to get you there. If you want to stay, you can. I’ll figure something out.” Felicity said.

“Sokovia has bad memories for us.” Pietro admitted. “America seem better, or at least, is new start. Besides, we want to stay with you.”

There was a knock at the door about fifteen minutes after they awoke and Bucky went to answer it. Barry was standing on the other side.

“Hey, is Felicity awake?” the blonde rushed over to the door.

“Hey, Barry. What’s up?”

“I came to say goodbye. I gotta head back to Central City. My ‘top secret government assignment’ ends soon.” The day after Felicity went missing, Lyla flew to Central City and informed the CCPD that ARGUS was commandeering Barry Allen for a top-secret, national security related case and he’d return when he was no longer needed. “I, uh, I called Cisco and Caitlin and told them you were okay, I hope you don’t mind. They’re friends of yours who help me as the Flash. I just…..you ever need anything, call me and I’ll be right there.” Barry said before hugging Felicity and leaving.

Minutes later, Simmons got off the elevator and approached the group. “I know you’re tired, but you can’t ignore your body.” Jemma said.

“What exactly are you saying?”

“You all need to go to medical so we can run some tests.” Jemma said.

“No doctors, no tests, no injections, nothing medical related. I….I can’t go down there. I-“ she began panting.

“I think you should leave.” Sara said as she came out of the guest room. Jemma listened and left. “She’s having a panic attack. ” Sara told a worried Bucky. “You need to calm her down.”

“How?” Felicity was the one with experience calming a distressed person down, not Bucky.

“Speak calmly, tell her she’s okay. Get her to focus on your voice.” Sara instructed him.

It took Bucky roughly ten minutes to calm Felicity down to a point where she could breathe normally.

A few hours later, Talia appeared and pulled Felicity aside. “I have the records, but I’d rather not discuss them when I know I am being watched.” Felicity nodded, before typing for several minutes into her new phone. When she looked back up, she announced.

“I disabled the audio feed for this floor. JARVIS can see us but not hear us.”

“Why do you need to do that?” Pietro asked.

“Because, as a favor to my sister, I acquired your files from Siberia, yours as well Al-Jundi.” Talia said before handing the stack over. “She believed you should get to see them before anyone else did.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter, we find out what those files say


	35. Chapter 35

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Files are read, revelations are had and arguments start.  
> AKA for a lot of smart people, Team Arrow and the Avengers can be really dumb

“The files about the twins mostly discuss attempts to convert them and Strucker’s attempts to discover the source of their abilities. There is a great deal of information regarding testing their powers. Strucker grew fascinated with discovering the limits, but he never managed to find them.” Talia then turned to face Bucky. “Yours are another matter. There are quite a few files regarding the Winter Soldier.”

“That makes sense. It’s the base where I spent the most time.”

“What about me?” Felicity asked.

“You did not have an individual file. Your records were with your beloved’s. In the Winter Soldier files.” Talia answered awkwardly.

“I’m in those files?” Felicity was surprised.

“Yes. From simply skimming them, they discuss the two of you and individuals identified only as ‘Subjects 23 through 27’.” Talia said.

“Let me see them. Now.” Bucky said in a hard voice.

“Who are they?”

“Successful attempts Karpov terminated.” He answered.

“Attempt at what?”

“Creating more of me. They didn’t have Erskine, and Zola was unable to isolate how I was a success but others weren’t. In the 90s, Hydra decided to start again. The first attempt was too weak, and the subjects died after the first round of ‘reconditioning’. Subjects 23 to 27 were involved in the second attempt at creating a Winter Soldier.” Bucky said as he flipped through the pages.  Wanda took a handful as well.  “Subject 23, Josef was his name. Anyway he had an ‘adverse’ response to the serum, he tried to rebel and Karpov terminated him. He probably killed the others in case there was a repeat.”

“I’m going to give all of you some time to think and regroup.” Talia said as she left.

It was silent as Bucky and Wanda continued to read the files.

“Does the name ‘WS-4187’ mean anything to you?” Wanda asked Bucky.

“Not that I know of. Why?”

“Because, I think that’s the name of what doctor give Felicity.”

“What?” everyone yelled.

She handed a piece of paper over to Bucky and pointed something out. “See, right there it says ‘20th July 2014, Subject given WS-4187 at approximately 9:17 am. 4:38pm, Subject awoke from procedure with no apparent side effect. Further experimentation pending interrogation, further conditioning and reacquirement of Asset.”

“What does that mean ‘further conditioning’?” Felicity asked fearfully.

“It means they already started to brainwash you, or at least they tried.” Bucky continued reading the page, when he reached the bottom he looked over at Felicity. “I’m sorry. I am so, so sorry. The serum that they gave you, it’s what they gave me. They wanted to make you like me.”

“So she is super soldier now?” Pietro asked.

“No. She’s a Winter Soldier. Or at least, that’s what he was planning.” Bucky said. “They finally got it right.”

“How can you know its right?” Felicity asked.

“If it was too weak, you wouldn’t have healed already. If it was too strong, trust me, we’d know. He thought that was why Subject 23 reacted the way he did.”

“That wasn’t why. He had the ‘warrior gene’, it made him pre-disposed to violence and aggression. He didn’t know to test for it back then.” Felicity said matter-of-factly. “Wait, how do I know that? You didn’t tell me, I didn’t read it in any files I found and he definitely didn’t tell me anything about the program.”

“I got no clue. If he didn’t tell you, I didn’t tell you and you didn’t read it in the files you leaked, I can’t explain how you know.”

_Great, so I’m a Winter Soldier, with some level of knowledge about other Winter Soldiers which is burned into my brain somehow. Oh, and that doesn’t even cover Wanda and Pietro’s situation. SHIELD and ARGUS are gonna try and put us all on some threat watchlist._

 

Roughly an hour after Talia left, Maria Hill came downstairs to fetch Bucky, claiming there was something the Avengers needs to discuss with him. Felicity and the twins insisted on coming along, not wanting to be alone.

“Are you sure about this?” Hill asked. “We’re going through the files from the Siberian facility. No one would blame you if you sat this meeting out.”

“We are.”

“Ok.” Hill said as she led the couple to the elevator. They exited on the top floor and everyone froze.

“She shouldn’t be here.” Oliver said.

“Oliver Jonas Queen! I am a grown woman who can make her own decisions. You are not my mother. Or my dad or anyone with authority over me. If I want to be here, I will be here and before you say it, if this gets to be too much, I’ll leave, but until then, I’m staying.” Felicity ranted. “I think we deserve to know what happened more than anyone else in this room. If anyone doesn’t like it, they can shove it directly up-“

“Ok, we get it. Coulson?”

“There was quite a bit to go through, but we managed to sort the files into three categories. Personnel, which is self-explanatory. People of interest, which is Hydra-speak for potentially valuable targets. People Hydra would like to get their hands on”

“You said three categories.” Steve asked. “What’s the other one?”

“Strucker’s work, which is mostly files for dead ‘test subjects’ and references to the twins.”

“That doesn’t make sense.” Wanda interrupted. “Hydra try to coerce Pietro and I into working for them. What would test subjects do?”

“He was trying to isolate the source of your….abilities and reproduce it. That way, even if you two never changed your minds, he’d-“

“Still have human weapons.” Wanda finished. “It was unsuccessful?”

“I don’t know how or why, we don’t have your files. Or yours Miss Smoak.”

“We know.”

“How?” Skye asked.

“Because I have them, took them with me before I left Siberia. The remaining records you found are more than enough to hold the Hydra members you captured. A few files wouldn’t have made a difference.” Felicity said blandly.

“We need to see what’s in those files.” Coulson said.

“No, you want to know what they say. There’s a difference.”

“We need to know what happened.”

“Knowing what happened will only make things worse. You have no idea what they did to us, plausible deniability and all that. If you somehow find out what happened, you'll have to respond accordingly. The three of us probably get stuck in a lab somewhere being studied like freaks of nature. That’s why I didn’t go to medical and that’s why you’re not getting those records. I’m not going through that and neither are the twins.”

“Felicity, we need to talk about what happened.” Oliver said.

“No, we don’t! I thought you of all people would understand not wanting to talk about it. This, what happened in Siberia, is my island. Ok. I’m sorry that I don’t want to discuss my very recent trauma with you right now. I need to understand what happened to me before I even begin to consider letting someone else know about it. And in case you’ve forgotten, I don’t remember most of you. I don’t want to talk about it, I won’t be talking about it with you, please respect my decision.” Felicity stood and looked around. Everyone was staring at her. “I….I need some air.” She practically sprinted into the stairwell.


	36. Chapter 36

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity has a moment, the tower gets a visitor and secrets come out.

Everyone looked at the door Felicity had just run out of. Bucky, Oliver, Sara and Digg all wanted to chase after her, but debated how smart that idea was.

“Do we….I mean, is someone gonna go after her?” Skye asked.

“No, when Felicity needs air, it means she wants to be alone.” Roy explained.

“JARVIS?”

“Yes, Sergeant?”

“Where did she go?”

“Miss Smoak is currently in the gym working out her aggression.”

“Man, Smoakie moves fast.” Tony remarked.

“This isn’t gonna last.” Digg said. “The damn levy’s gonna break soon.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Felicity’s had two weeks from Hell, which we can all agree on. She was kidnapped, tortured, possibly experimented on without her consent, lost her memory and she killed the guy who did all of that to her. She’s never killed someone before. Eventually, and by that I mean soon, that guilts gonna start eating at her.”

“It’s possible she killed more than just Karpov.” Bruce said.

“That doesn’t disprove my point. It’s gonna destroy her.”

“For someone who claims to know my sister so well, you all lack a great deal of insight.” Nyssa said as she exited the elevator. “She can understand the difference between self-defense and murder. In regards to her emotional state, I think you underestimate her inner strength. These events are recent, she simply needs time. Speaking of Zahara, where is she? I have…news.”

“The gym. These idiots decided it was a good idea to try and force Felicity into discussing what happened.” Sara said. “It didn’t go well.”

“What news?” Oliver asked.

“Nothing that concerns you, Mr. Queen. It is a family matter. Shall we go find her?” Nyssa asked Bucky, who nodded and went to follow her.

“Shit.” Sara said as soon as Nyssa left.

“What is it?”

“It’s a ‘family matter’. You do remember who her family is, right?"  _There's like a 96% chance that Ra's is already on his way here._

* * *

 

**Gym**

When Felicity ran into the stairwell, she had no idea where she was heading. Her feet carried themselves onto one of the communal floors and she wound up in the gym. Once inside, she spotted a training dummy. All of a sudden, every bit of anger she’d felt over the last week came rushing back to her at a hundred miles an hour. Without thinking of taping her hands or changing into more workout friendly gear, she began punching the dummy.

“Why is it always me? I get kidnapped, tortured, threatened, experimented on, used as bait, shot. Why is it always me?”

Felicity hit the dummy again and again. Over and over, she barely noticed when her hands started to bleed or when she started to cry or when JARVIS tried to snap her out of it. She only stopped when she was pulled away from the equipment.

“Sh…its ok. It’s okay.” Bucky murmured to her.

“No, its not. I’m….I’m so angry and scared and sad and I….I don’t know what I’m supposed to do! Tell me what I’m supposed to do!”

“I can’t do that, honey. I’d give anything to have the answers right now. I wish we could just go home and put all of this behind us.”

“We can’t go home. They….he was at the house! Hydra was in our house! That’s how he knew I was ‘valuable’ to you. How am I supposed to go back there now?” Felicity started sobbing.

“Hey, look at me okay? You don’t have to go back if you don’t want to. You wanna find a new house, we’ll find one. You wanna move to Canada, we’ll go to Canada. You wanna stay in New York, we’ll stay. If you want to move to Bali and live on the beach, we will. I don’t care, I just want you to be happy.” Bucky reassured her.

“But….you liked it there.”

“Yeah, because you were with me.”

“As heartfelt as this moment is, we have things to discuss.” Nyssa said before Bucky and Felicity got too emotional.

“What is it?”

“Father will be in New York tomorrow. He wishes to see you.”

“Are you serious? I can’t deal with him right now. I’m exhausted and stressed out of my mind and I can barely be around people right now. I can’t deal with that and whatever he needs right now.”

“He is not coming to make demands of you. He is visiting his daughter who has just survived a harrowing ordeal. He cares, in his own way, and wishes to confirm that you are relatively unscathed. He is also keen to meet his son-in-law.”

“How much does he know?” Bucky asked.

“About you or about what transpired in Siberia? He knows everything Talia and I do regarding both topics. Even if Talia didn’t tell him, members of the League would have informed him.”

“Fantastic.” 

* * *

 

**Top floor**

Eventually, Bucky convinced Felicity to go back upstairs. When they reached the top floor, the room went silent again. After a few seconds, everyone started speaking at once.

“Miss Smoak, I-“

“Blondie, we-“

“Felicity-“

“Can you all please shut up?” Felicity said closing her eyes and tried to calm herself. “If you want to apologize, fine. If you’re trying to make me change my mind, screw you. If you want to know how I am, I don’t know. I think that covers it.” She opened her eyes and everyone in the room looked noticeably less concerned. “I need to talk to Team Arrow.” The Avengers quickly dispersed after that. Then the twins made an excuse to go back to Felicity’s floor. This left Team Arrow and Bucky standing in the common room awkwardly.

“We don’t call ourselves that.” Oliver said.

“Well, I do, so….” Felicity said. “I….I know I’m missing a lot of things, from my memory, and I kinda hope you can help me fill in a few blanks.”

“Of course.” Digg said, while Oliver and Roy nodded.

“I….I remember being underground somewhere and the whole room started shaking. The rest of you were somewhere else.”

“That was the Undertaking. Malcolm Merlyn caused an earthquake in Starling to destroy the Glades.” Oliver began to explain. He explained everything that happened from when he and Digg left to stop Malcolm to watching Tommy die. Sadly, Felicity didn’t remember any of the events he described. She did remember Tommy though. Based on her questions and what she claimed to remember, Felicity didn’t remember the Huntress or Count Vertigo. She didn’t know about Mirakuru, just that Slade wanted to destroy the city. She hated Isabel, but couldn’t recall why.

Eventually, Felicity got tired of talking and retreated downstairs. Bucky didn’t immediately follow. “They’ll come back.” He told the team once the elevator closed. “Mine did and I had a lot more memories missing.”

“What do we do until then?” John asked.

“There’s not a lot you can do. The mind has to figure things out for itself occasionally. Sometime I saw something that made me remember, sometimes they just came back randomly.”

* * *

 

**Next Morning**

The next morning, things in the tower were quiet. Everyone had breakfast together, then went their separate ways. Felicity had to awkwardly get reintroduced to the Avengers and SHIELD agents who were there. Tony and Bruce went to their lab. Natasha, Clint, Sara, and Oliver were looking through files. They were the only ones other than Bucky who spoke Russian, so they could translate faster and more correctly than any technology. Steve, Digg and Roy were all in the gym working on hand-to-hand combat. The latter two couldn’t resist the chance to get some pointers from Captain America himself. Felicity had signaled pretty hard that she wanted her team to go back home. It wasn’t that she didn’t want them around, it was just that she couldn’t think with everyone always asking her how she was. She had a lot of thinking to do.

Strangely, everyone broke for lunch around the same time and wound up on the top floor together. Steve was about to leave to seek Bucky or Felicity out when JARVIS made an announcement.

“Sir, it appears we have an intruder on the 57th floor.”

“That’s Felicity’s floor.” Steve said.

“I am aware Captain.”

“So why aren’t we looking at the security camera footage right now, J?” Tony asked.

“The cameras have been disabled, but the audio capabilities have not.” JARVIS explained before the feed began to play.

“-know I was...a friend of the Arrow. Or the daughter of Ra’s al Ghul.” Felicity said.

“Indeed. You look well, my child. Your sister made it seem like we might need the Lazarus Pit to return you to full strength.” A male voice with a slight Middle Eastern accent said.

“Yeah, well, being exhausted and covered in blood isn’t a good look for anyone. And Talia’s always been a drama queen.” Felicity replied. “So, you decided to break into one of the most secure buildings in New York to see me. What if the security system had caught you?”

“Anthony Stark, much like his father, is tragically ‘new school’ as you would say. There is a reason why the old ways endure to this day. It is not difficult for our tactics to surpass the abilities of those who rely that heavily on technology. And you know very well that I have infiltrated places much more secure than this.”

“Well, I’ll save you some time. I’m fine. My injuries are on their way to being healed, nothing life-threatening. I’m not gonna die and ruin the master plan you set in motion years ago.” She sounded like she was trying to hurry the conversation along.

“I can see that you are physically no worse for wear, but how do you feel, having now taken a life?”

There was a deep sigh. “I took nine. And I felt nothing for the most part. The first eight were trying to kill me, so I killed them first. The last one, Karpov, well after that I felt relief.”

“Because you replaced evil with death.” Ra’s voice was half stating a fact and half asking a question.

“I don’t know, maybe. Between what he did to me and what he put James through, he didn’t deserve to live.”

“Speaking of your beloved, you can tell him to come out now.” Ra’s said sounding amused. “I must admit, I was….reluctant to believe Nyssa when she spoke of what transpired in Cambridge. Having now heard from several of my men tales of your dedication to finding my daughter, it seems my skepticism was misplaced.”

“Thank you, sir. I wish I’d been able to find her sooner.”

“Wow, Buck actually sounds nervous.” Steve said.

“He should be, Ra’s al Ghul is a very dangerous man.” Oliver said.

“He really shouldn’t be.” Sara argued. “Felicity’s one of his favorite children, Felicity and Bucky aren’t both women like Nyssa and I, and unlike Talia and her beloved, Bucky understands the League’s purpose somewhat. None of her other siblings are in relationships. On top of that, Ra's won't kill his own son-in-law.”

“Wouldn’t that mean Felicity and Barnes are married?” Tony asked after a long pause.

“You didn’t know they were married? Oops.” Sara said. For a moment, she’d forgotten that only the League knew Felicity and Bucky were married.

“You did everything you could.” Felicity said trying to comfort Bucky.

Ra’s spoke again. “Sadly, I must be off. I have matters I must urgently attend to. _Try to convince her to visit Nanda Parbat more often.”_

_ “Don’t talk about me like I’m not here.” _

_ “It is the will of Ra’s al Ghul.” _

“You can’t always use that as an excuse!” Felicity yelled after him.

 

When Felicity and Bucky arrived upstairs, no one quite knew how to bring up the conversation they’d eavesdropped on. Both teams had questions, albeit very different types of questions and no one could figure out where to start.

“So, that was daddy dearest.” Tony remarked. “I’ve had warmer conversations with people trying to kill me.”

“One, our relationship is a little complicated right now. Two, he doesn’t really do that well with comforting people. Three, do you really think someone who goes by the name ‘the Demon Head’ is easy to get along with?”

“And you disabled the cameras because?”

“Same reason I disable the cameras in the twins’ rooms. You’re lucky I turned the audio back on. I didn’t want everyone watching me, okay? Neither do they. I haven’t been alone alone since I got into that stupid cab. I wanted one place, other than the bathroom, where no one was watching me.” Felicity said crossing her arms.

“Are we not gonna talk about the whole ‘they’re married’ bombshell?” Clint asked.

“Sara!”

“I’m sorry, it just kinda slipped out.” The blonde defended. “I forgot that no one here or at home knew except me.”

“Speaking of Starling, you guys need to go home.” Felicity said. “You left Starling defenseless to find me, and you did. But the city still needs you. You have lives you need to get back to.”

“What about you?” Digg asked. “You have a life there too. And friends and a job.”

“I know, I just….I need some time away. The good thing about freelance is you can do it anywhere. I need to process things, figure out my next move. Can’t really do that there.”

After a few more minutes of arguing back and forth, Digg caved on leaving. This led to Roy and Oliver giving in as well. Sara agreed to leave, but threatened to come back in a week or so.

As Felicity watched them leave, a thought occurred to her. She pulled out her phone and dialed. “Hey, Barry….No, I’m fine, well relatively fine……you know what I mean….I kinda need a favor….” Felicity spent the next several minutes explaining things to Barry, and convincing him to keep Dr. Wells and Cisco occupied and out of Star Labs for a few hours. When she finally hung up, she turned to Bucky and said. “I’m going to Central City tomorrow, and you’re coming with me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will Felicity go to Starling or stay in New York? What will happen in Central City?


	37. Chapter 37

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity goes to Central City, the twins and Felicity go on a field trip and there's some bonding that happens.

**Central City**

Felicity fought the urge to fidget as she explained why she came to Central City to the person she asked Barry to contact. The speedster had convinced Dr. Wells and Cisco that they need to go to the Star Labs annex in order to measure Barry’s progress at getting faster.

“So, you see….that’s kinda why I’m here.” the blonde finished awkwardly.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m flattered you came to me. But are you sure I’m person you want to do this? It just seems like….there are plenty of other options in New York. Or Starling. More experienced and prestigious options.”

“Barry trusts you completely and he adamantly assured me that I can too. That’s enough for me.” Felicity responded. “I don’t care about experience or prestige, I need someone I can trust. I also....I did some research, you don't-you're in the same field as my 'other options' but you don't have the same motive as they do. It's....comforting.”

“Well then, I guess we should get started.”

* * *

 

**New York**

Three days after Team Arrow went home, Felicity walked onto her floor and announced, “Twins, get up, get dressed, we’re going out.”

Wanda and Pietro came out of their rooms. Ever since they arrived at the Tower, they’d been staying on Felicity’s floor. Even though Wanda knew her brother was safe and vice versa, it was comforting to have him close by. It was also a relief to have Felicity close as well. The blonde was taking her promise to help the twins very seriously and often acted as a buffer between the twins and the others in the tower. There weren’t any fights or confrontations, but the twins were understandably nervous around new people.

“Where are we going?” Wanda asked.

“Well, one, we all need more than just three days-worth of clothing. Two, I’m kinda getting cabin fever and three, I really want pizza.”

“Are you sure it is safe?” Pietro asked.

“Yeah. Both the pizza place I found and the closest department store are within a mile of this place. What do you say?”

“Fine.” The twins said together before getting ready. Half an hour later, the trio was leaving Stark Tower. 

* * *

 

**Steve’s floor**

Steve had just gotten done with his post-workout shower when there was a knock at the door. He yelled “Just a minute,” while rushing to dress himself. He tripped putting his pants on and ran into his coffee table. Finally, he was decent and went to answer the door. Bucky was standing on the other side looking lost.

“Hey Buck.”

“Steve. I, uh, when I first got here, I was a little preoccupied. I know seeing me for the first time didn’t really go the way either of us planned.”

“No, it didn’t. Come in.”

“Thanks.”

The pair stood there awkwardly for several moments before Steve finally spoke. “So, um, how are you? How’s Felicity? She seems to be good, but she’s kinda been avoiding everyone except you, the twins and Banner.”

“We’re all…..getting there. That base brought back a lot of bad memories for me. It gave them a lot of bad ones too. Felicity’s a little out of her element. She’s not used to being the one trying to move past things. She also…even though she’s not missing years-worth of memories like me, she’s struggling to recover them. It’s a jarring experience. She knows Banner won’t push and that the twins and I don’t have to. They just need time.”

“Well, if you ever need to talk, if any of them ever need to talk, let them know I’m here.” Steve said.

“I’ll pass it along. Don’t get angry when they say no. Can we talk about something else?”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know, anything that doesn’t involve Hydra. What’ve you been doing since DC?” Bucky asked.

“Looking for you.”

Bucky rolled his eyes. “Other than that. You didn’t spend every second looking for me, did you?”

“What was I supposed to do, sit home and knit? Or maybe I shoulda spent all my time trying to figure out those new-fangled devices, like those telo-phones Tony is always yammering about.” Steve asked sarcastically. Then he turned serious. “I started drawing again, crossed some items off my list. Trained.”

“What list?”

“When I woke up, I realized how much I’d missed. I made a list of stuff that happened when I was frozen. Most of it was movies Tony claimed I had to see. Some of the history was cool. Did you know we went to the moon?”

“We did?”

“Yeah, in the late 1960s. We’ve stopped going for some reason. A few years ago, NASA even started sending robots to Mars.” Steve said. He remembered fondly how much Bucky loved science.

“That is so cool.” They spent the next hour or so telling one another about things they’d discovered or learned about in the last year.

* * *

 

**Macy’s**

“There are a lot of people here.” Wanda said as they entered the store. Lunch had been good, but uneventful.

“It’s New York and this specific store’s kinda famous. Are you two gonna be okay or do you want to go somewhere else?” Felicity answered.

“’Here is fine. We’re not used to so many people.” Pietro reassured her. “We stay together though.”

“Ok, let’s find the men’s section first since Pietro’s probably going to take less time.” Felicity said as she headed further into the store.

Felicity wandered around the men’s section grabbing the occasional black, dark grey, red or blue item of clothing for Bucky. It took Pietro less than twenty minutes to find all the clothes he liked, without superspeed. After a few minutes arguing with Felicity who wanted him to get more than just two shirts, two pairs of pants and a package of underwear, he grabbed more and they headed towards the women’s section.

“So, Wanda what’s your style?” Felicity asked as she sifted through clothing racks. “Vintage? Modern? Trendy? Bright colors? Dark colors? Loose fitting or form fitting?”

“I like dark colors more. And I don’t like tight clothing.” She answered. “I don’t really follow trends.”

“Ok. That rules out jeggings and skinny jeans.”

“What are jeggings?” she asked.

“Leggings made out of denim. I don’t really get the trend, but they’re popular for some reason.” Felicity answered. She looked around the area before her eyes fell on something. She pointed. “Why don’t we try over there?”

They moved towards the more casual part of the women’s department where Wanda found a bunch of clothing she liked. They were mostly casual dresses, yoga pants, and other comfortable clothing. Felicity dragged Wanda to the dressing room so she’d try everything on.

“What was point of asking size then?” Pietro wondered as he stood outside the door.

“Sizes vary from brand to brand. The only way to know women’s clothing fits is to try it on.” Felicity answered. “Besides, its kinda fun. Like a mini fashion show.” The blonde grabbed her own pile of clothing and went into the dressing room next to her.

Thirty minutes later, the three of them were done with clothing and moved onto other necessities. It turned out Pietro wasn’t picky about clothing, but he was very particular about shoes.

“Wrong kind of sole makes running harder.” He defended. “What is point of speed if I can’t run?”

“I’m buying four to five-inch heels, so I really can’t judge.” Felicity said.

“Why do you buy shoes like that?” Wanda asked. So far Wanda had picked out flats and a pair of boots.

“They make me feel confident. I’m also five foot five and my husband is six feet tall, so the heels make me feel less tiny.”

 

After two and a half hours in Macy’s, the trio checked out and left. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Felicity asked as they walked outside. There had only been one panic attack and two flashbacks. Thankfully, none of the three ended in property damage or the public witnessing Wanda or Pietro’s powers.

“I can’t believe we could not have done that using computer.” Pietro said. Shopping with two women was very boring and he hadn’t expected it to take as long.

“We could have, but then we couldn’t try anything on before buying it. And returning it can be a hassle. Buying clothes in person is easier.” Felicity said. “Next time, you don’t have to come.” 

* * *

 

**Avengers Tower**

When Felicity, Wanda and Pietro returned to the tower, they barely had time to put their purchases away before Tony summoned everyone upstairs. Felicity rolled her eyes but shrugged and they went to the top floor. Everyone else was already up there. She walked over to Bucky who put one arm around her waist.

“Finally. Where were you?” Tony asked.

“Macy’s. We only had three days-worth of clothing.” Felicity answered. “Now we have a whole lot more. James too, I got tired of seeing him wear the same three shirts.”

“You three went to Macy’s alone, in the middle of the day, and nothing newsworthy happened?”

“Why did you call us here, Stark?” Natasha asked.

“Team dinner. Everyone has to stay. We’re having Indian food.” Tony announced. “We needed some downtime all together. Team bonding and all that.”

“Whatever. I’m down for free food.” Clint said taking a seat.

The team dinner was uneventful, if a little awkward. Luckily, Tony and Steve were good at keeping conversations going, even if half the people there didn’t feel like talking. Eventually, the conversation turned to things someone hadn’t tried yet and needed to. It turned out the twins, Steve and Bucky had never eaten Indian food before. Steve and Bucky discovered they liked lamb vindaloo. Wanda and Pietro weren’t used to spicy foods, so more than once they ate something only to chug water a few moments later.

"How is your face not melting right now?" Tony asked Felicity as she got a second helping of chili chicken. The dish had made everyone who tried it other than Clint and Felicity start tearing up.

"I've eaten much spicier Indian food than this over the years. I guess I've become numb to the spice." For the first few years, Talia visited Felicity fairly often. Every time, she'd insist on having Indian food and every time they had Indian food, Talia made Felicity eat some of her spicy food. The blonde still found the dish hot, just not 'cry your eyes out' hot.

Felicity enjoyed the food but it wasn’t as good as the samosas she’d gotten with Talia last time.  After dinner, they hung around to talk for awhile before going their separate ways.


	38. Chapter 38

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some Felicity/Bucky cuteness, a flashback and a secret comes out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year

When Bucky woke the next morning, it took him a few seconds to remember where he was. He felt something warm on top of him and looked down. The man smiled when he saw Felicity fast asleep on his chest. She looked so peaceful. Excluding the day she came home, Felicity hadn’t slept very well since leaving Siberia. It was nice to see her so relaxed.

“I can feel you staring.” She mumbled.

“Sorry. You’re just so beautiful.”

“If you think being sweet is gonna keep you outta trouble…. you’re probably right.” Felicity said opening her eyes. “Hi.”

“Good morning. How’d you sleep?”

“Better than yesterday. No nightmares.” Felicity said as she sat up. She grabbed Bucky’s left hand and started fiddling with his fingers. “So I guess that’s good.”

Bucky watched her play with his hand for a few minutes while he searched for words. She’d never done something like this before, but he could read from her body language that she was nervous and a little unsure of what his reaction would be. “As a very smart, and very beautiful, woman once told me, recovery is a process. You can’t expect it to just happen overnight.”

She looked up at him. “Okay, don’t quote me to me. Even though I’m right. Remember the first time you let me see this?” she grabbed his left wrist and held it up.

“Yeah.”

* * *

  **Starling-Four days after Slade lost**

Felicity was cleaning up the spare computer parts laying around her living room when she heard the shower turn off. It had been a quiet day so far. She and Bucky had spent the day at her house, just kind of laying around and watching TV. It was a nice, peaceful day after the very stressful few weeks that proceeded it. She’d called out of Arrow duty that evening, things were still weird between her and Oliver.

When the door to the bathroom opened, Felicity turned to face it. “For dinner, do you want pizza or-" Felicity trailed off when she realized what she was seeing. Bucky, in a towel, and only a towel, standing there. Her eyes were immediately drawn to his left shoulder where metal and flesh met. They moved over his chest where many of his scars were.

Bucky saw her staring and looked away from her. “I’m sorry, I know my scars are hard to look at. I’ll cover them up.” He looked around for a shirt.  _Should've known not to let her see my scars, knew they'd upset her. She's probably disgusted just looking at them._

“It’s not that.” She said quietly. “You’ve…. you’ve never let me see them before. Back in Massachusetts, even after you would shower, you always put clothes on before you stepped out of the bathroom.” Felicity found herself moving closer to him almost subconsciously.  She reached a hand out and he backed up a little bit.

Her fingers brushed his shoulder, right where his arm was attached, and he tensed. Her fingers were gentle and it felt…good. He wasn’t used to anyone touching him that gently. She noticed him tense immediately and dropped her arm. “Sorry, I should’ve asked before I did that. Did that hurt?”

“No, don’t stop. It feels good. It never felt good before.” Her fingers continued to explore his chest and abdomen. At one point she looked up at him and realized he was crying.

“You’re crying.” She kept one hand where it was and used the other to wipe his tears away. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“You didn’t. It’s been a long time since someone touched me without hurting me, or looked at my scars without being disgusted.” He said before looking away. “I’m broken, I’m a mess, I’m a monster, you deserve someone so much better than me.”

“I don’t care about someone better, I want you. You’re not a monster, you’re a prisoner of war. You’re a survivor and I’ll fight anyone who says otherwise.” Felicity said. She leaned up and kissed him. “I love you, all parts of you, even if you don’t.”

 

Two weeks later, Felicity came walking into the house with a container of paint thinner in one hand and a look of determination on her face. Bucky had mentioned in passing how much he disliked his arm. Felicity couldn’t give him a new one, but she could get rid of the red star painted on it. Bucky viewed the star as Hydra’s way of branding him and, when she offered to get rid of it, he agreed almost immediately. Several hours and a lot of scrubbing later, Bucky’s arm was free of the symbol. The only proof it had ever been there was the red paint staining one of Felicity’s rags.

* * *

  **New York-Present**

“You know, your scars mean you’re a survivor too.” Bucky said, pulling Felicity out of her trance. Despite it being July, the blonde seemed to be avoiding shorts and tank tops. Even the dresses she wore were too long for the season. No one wanted to say anything but they all knew why. She didn’t have as many scars as Bucky, or even Natasha or Clint, but she wasn’t ready for anyone to see them yet.

“I know, it’s just….”

“I know. I just thought you might need to hear it.”

“I kinda did. I love you.” Felicity moved so that she was straddling him.

“Well, that’s good, because I love you.” Bucky responded as he leaned up to kiss her.

“Mrs. Barnes.” JARVIS said. Ever since Sara had spilled the beans about her and Bucky’s relationship status, the AI started called her Mrs. Barnes.

“You’re killing me here.”

“It’s still Smoak, JARVIS. What is it?” Felicity said.

“Director Coulson and Captain Rogers would like to speak with you upstairs.”

“Is anyone dying or the world ending?” She asked.

“No.”

“Tell them we’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

“Make that thirty.” Bucky yelled as he rolled the two of them over. Felicity yelped in surprise and then started giggling.

* * *

  **Upstairs-Forty-five minutes later**

Felicity had a deathgrip on Bucky’s hand as the elevator moved to the top floor. She was trying and failing to keep herself from freaking out.

“Everything’s gonna be fine.” Bucky assured her.

“You don’t know that. You can’t promise that. What if they decide waiting patiently isn’t enough? What if they arrest me or something? Or you? I mean, Siberia’s kinda been the elephant in the room ever since my freak-out. They might’ve found something and now they-" Felicity started to babble.

“Hey, look at me, ok.” Bucky said turning to face her. “You are not in Siberia, you’re in New York, and these people are your friends. I’m not gonna let anything happen to you and neither are they.”

Felicity’s breathing went back to normal and her grip on Bucky’s hand loosened. The elevator doors opened and her pulse spiked once again. Steve, Tony, Natasha, Clint, Bruce, Coulson and his team, Lyla, Pepper and Maria Hill were all there waiting for them.

“Finally.” Tony remarked. “I know you’re newlyweds, but-"

“Tony, shut it.” Steve said.

“What’s up?” Felicity asked, trying to sound more confident and carefree than she felt.

“We wanted to talk to you.” He explained.

“And you needed everyone to be here for that? Because that kinda makes me think this isn’t a friendly chat. And I don’t like being ambushed.” Felicity said.

“This isn’t an ambush.”

“Kinda feels like one.” Bucky interjected.

“Sorry you feel that way.” Coulson said before turning back to Felicity. “Why didn’t you tell us, Miss Smoak?”

“Tell you what?”

“That Hydra gave you the super soldier serum.” Steve said.

_Oh frack._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah. Cliffhanger again.


	39. Chapter 39

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity's secret is out, we find out why she went to Central City and we find out an effect of the serum. A fight is also brewing.

“Why didn’t you tell us, Miss Smoak?”

“Tell you what?”

“That Hydra gave you the super soldier serum.” Steve said.

“They didn’t.” Felicity responded. _Playing dumb should work, hopefully._

“Yes, they did. That’s the only way your bullet wound could have healed already.” Natasha said. “Your shoulder wouldn’t be functional otherwise.”

“You hadn’t disabled the cameras when Sara said it was healed.” Tony said. “JARVIS showed us the video earlier.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?”

“Why didn’t I tell you? Why didn’t I tell you?! Are you serious, right now? This shit happened to me like a week and a half ago! And you’re making the most traumatic experience of my life about you! About how dare I not tell you. Do you even hear yourself right now?”

“Yelling isn’t gonna help.” Coulson interjected.

“Oh, fuck off, all of you.” Bucky said. “Since when does she have to tell you anything? She’s not on your team or a member of your organization. She doesn’t owe you jack shit.”

“She can also speak herself, but he’s right, I don’t owe any of you an explanation. So, let me guess, now I’m getting shipped off to a lab to be studied or put on some watchlist.” Felicity said as she shifted into a fighting stance.

“No, of course not!” Steve yelled. His voice then became softer. “Did….did you think we’d really do that? Is that why you didn’t want us to know?”

“Partially, yes. I hadn’t finished processing it yet. I hadn’t worked out how to explain what happened to anyone other than Bucky, who has the experience. In addition, for the third time, I don’t owe you anything. As for the whole watchlist thing, SHIELD had you on one. Both SHIELD and ARGUS had Bucky on one. And my last few days….there was being locked in a lab getting studied or being ‘questioned’. It’s not paranoia if someone’s actually out to get you.”

“You’ve been on our radar ever since you hacked us to find Deadshot. This doesn’t really change anything.” Lyla said.

“We classified our anonymous source as a consultant a few months ago.” Coulson admitted. “I also have no doubt that, even if we put you on threatwatch, you’d find a way to remove yourself without anyone knowing.”

“More importantly, now that we all know, you need to go to medical.” Jemma said.

“I’m still not going down there.”

“Even with your new healing abilities, you still need a physician, Felicity.”

“Oh, I already have one. The Flash and I have the same doctor. He recommended her when I talked to him a few days ago. That’s why I went to Central City, for a check-up. And she gave me the all clear.” Felicity explained. She knew if SHIELD found out about the serum, they would still try to run tests on her. Even if she refused testing, they could learn a lot from her blood under the guise of a check-up. If she was never treated by a SHIELD doctor, SHIELD could never get its hands on her blood. She also knew that if she had a doctor, one they couldn't argue was unqualified, they couldn't browbeat her into going to medical if there wasn't an emergency.  _I trust Barry more than most of you in this room. Caitlin is both not a part of SHIELD and the only doctor I remember enough of to trust._ “Hate to break it to you, but I get to decide what doctor I see. And what I want other people to know. None of you had the right to invade my privacy like that. Or just announce it to everyone else before confronting me. Or be so arrogant that you think I owe any of you anything.”

“Look, maybe we shouldn’t have told you the way we did, but we weren’t trying to make you panic.” Steve said. “We hoped, if you knew that we knew, that it would make things easier.”

“Next time, just go by yourself and tell the person. I thought everyone was here to keep us from leaving.” The blonde admitted.

“Not that it would’ve worked.” Bucky added.

 “True, once I tricked Bruce out of the room, they were going down.” Felicity said.

“No, we wouldn’t have. We’re the Avengers.” Tony argued.

“Yeah, but most of the people in this room are average-strength humans. And, I’m a supersoldier, or did you forget that?” Felicity responded. “I’m a supersoldier who, unlike Captain America over there, was raised by an ancient sect of assassins. You really think the ten of you could’ve kept me from leaving?” _Ok, ‘raised by a sect of assassins’ might be a stretch, but none of you know that._ “And that’s just if we just fought. It doesn’t even take into account any of my detailed contingency plans. Including the one where 1939’s Steve Rogers shows up.”

“Really?”

She fought the urge to roll her eyes. Before Siberia, Felicity had plans for three things: someone's identity being exposed, someone getting arrested or Bucky being indicted for what the Winter Soldier had done. Now, Felicity was prepared for every eventuality, including evil doppelgangers from a parallel universe showing up to steal someone's kidneys. “Oh, time travel is the tip of that iceberg. I’ve had a rough few years and don’t like being blindsided. Back-up plans became necessary.” Felicity admitted. “I’m glad I didn’t have to use them this time.” _At least one of you dies in the ‘for one reason or another I have to fight all of you’ plan_. 

“We…this isn’t why we called you up here.” Coulson said.

“That’s why I asked her up here, I wanted her to know it didn’t change anything.” Steve admitted. “Meeting adjourned?”

“No, because I need to talk with both of them about something.” Coulson said. “We’re, uh, we started going through the Siberia files and there’s some stuff you two should know.”

“Like what?”

“This was the first time we went to a Hydra base that wasn’t completely abandoned. All of the computers were still part of Hydra’s network. And-“ Phil started to explain.

“That means now you have access to their servers.” Felicity finished. “Computer genius, remember?”

“Yeah, that. Problem is, a lot of those files are corrupted or encrypted making them useless for now. The personnel files are not.”

“So you want me to decrypt the files you can’t read and do my thing.” It probably wouldn't take very long for Felicity to do. Ever since Siberia, the blonde had noticed that her brain was processing things faster. She didn't know if she was necessarily smarter, but she was definitely quicker at picking things up. She mentioned it to Caitlin who hypothesized that it might be an effect of the serum.

“Not exactly. Skye has a team of people working on that. We need to know which people are dead ends. In more than one way.” SHIELD wanted to know who the League had taken care of, and who they hadn’t. The logic made sense; Ra’s was finding people faster than SHIELD knew they needed to be found and a wild goose chase was a waste of resources.

“Oh.” Felicity said. _You blindside me and now you want a favor? Seriously?_ “I can ask, I can’t guarantee I’ll get answers.” With the League, everything, even information, came at a price. The blonde rarely asked before, since not knowing meant she had some deniability. Asking also usually meant talking to her least favorite brother. “It might take a few days.” _I’m also really pissed, so I’m not super invested in helping you right now._

“Ok.” Coulson said and his team departed. Lyla left soon after.

“Ok, now that the grown-ups are gone, we can have fun.” Tony said. “Bruce, Smoakie, wanna see who can make the biggest explosion in the lab?”

“Really not a good idea.” Bruce said.

“I’m out too. This whole ‘we know your secrets’ thing you pulled, kinda made me very on-edge so I’m gonna go do boring exercise stuff until I don’t feel like that anymore.” Felicity said gesturing to the elevator. _I want to smash all of your faces in, so being in the same room as you isn’t a good idea right now._ “And, there’s some phone calls I need to make.”

“You both are lame!” Tony said in response. “This is why Rhodey is better than both of you.”

 

Two hours after Felicity disappeared to call Ra’s, Steve had managed to talk Bucky into going to the gym with him. The captain assured his friend that if he wanted to leave he could, and that they’d only spar if Bucky wanted to. Bucky was still giving Steve, and everyone else death glares. Whether Felicity forgave everyone soon or not, Bucky wasn’t going to forget how they’d treated her earlier or how upset she’d gotten for a long time.

When the pair got to the right floor, they noticed it was a lot busier than normal. Usually, there were only five people in the gym, at most, at any point in the day. Now, there were nearly two dozen. Most of the Avengers, Wanda, Pietro and various SHIELD agents who’d spent the last week in and out of the tower. Everyone was gathered in a crowd in the corner watching something. The floor was silent except for the low clanging noise coming from that corner and a few whispers. Every fifteen seconds or so, there was also an intake of breath coming from the crowd. Out of curiosity, Steve and Bucky walked over to the group.

“How long?” An agent asked.

“I’ve been here 45 minutes so….” Another answered.

Steve and Bucky finally got to a place where they could see what everyone was looking at. Felicity’s back was to the crowd and she was using a salmon ladder. Every time she pulled the bar up a rung, the crowd inhaled. Every time it landed on the next rung, they exhaled.

Natasha crept over to Steve and Bucky, making sure the latter heard her, and stood next to them. “She’s been doing that for almost an hour and a half.”

“How is she not tired?” Someone in the crowd asked.

“You know I can hear you guys, right? You’re not subtle.” Felicity asked. Everyone except the Avengers and the twins scattered like cockroaches when she said that. She got the bar onto the lowest rung and jumped down. “Well, that was an experience.”

“Have you been doing that since you went downstairs?” Bucky asked.

“No, I contacted Ra’s, called my doctor, talked to Team Arrow for a while and then came down here and started doing it. JARVIS, how long was I going for?”

“An hour and twenty-six minutes.” The AI answered.

“Woah, really? I beat Sara’s record then. Anyway, I started doing it as a warm-up, then all of a sudden I had an audience. I hoped they’d get bored eventually and leave.” Felicity shrugged. “I guess scaring them off works too.”

“Any news from Caitlin?” Bucky asked.

After Felicity’s check-up, the blonde asked her to do a full blood work-up. She wanted to be as sure as possible that the serum was the only thing Hydra gave her and that there wasn’t another surprise waiting to happen. Caitlin had agreed almost immediately, but did mention that she might need to draw more blood at another date for comparison.

“Not yet. She said she might not have anything for another few days.” Caitlin was taking her oath to protect Felicity’s privacy very seriously, and thus was running the tests when she knew other Star Labs staff was preoccupied.

“Warm-up to what?” Clint asked.

“Not sure. Normally hand-to-hand, but now that I’m….enhanced I gotta worry about not, you know, accidentally throwing someone through a wall. Or hitting them too hard.”

“I’d volunteer but….” Bucky started to say. Bucky didn’t like sparring, especially with anyone he cared about. The exercise brought back a lot of bad memories and every time he grew more and more concerned about not being able to pull himself out of it this time.

“I know.” Felicity responded.

Steve looked back and forth between the pair before speaking. “I guess I could spar with you, if you want. Then, you wouldn’t have to worry as much about using too much strength.” Felicity looked ready to refuse. “I mean, only if you want to. Just wanted to give you the option….”

“No, that would be great. It’s just….are you sure?” she asked skeptically. Felicity wasn’t used to fighting people other than her family or Sara. She’d never fought someone who wasn’t an expert in multiple forms of fighting. Steve had strength, but relied very heavily on that and not on having a solid fighting foundation.

Steve, misunderstanding what she was worried about, thought she didn’t want to impose. “Yeah, I mean, we came down here to spar anyway, and if Buck’s not feeling it-“

“Ok. Guess we’re doing it then. No hits to the face though.”

“Fair enough.” Steve said as he went to stretch and warm-up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who will win Steve or Felicity?
> 
> A few chapters ago, Felicity told Caitlin she was coming to her because 'her motives are different'. Caitlin studies metahumans(like Barry) and enhanced humans(like Felicity) from a scientific perspective to gain insight, while SHIELD has been shown to do it more for threat analysis. I don't know about you, but I'd rather have a doctor who's trying to keep me healthy than one who's trying to find my weaknesses.


	40. Chapter 40

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A fight, a party and a God of Thunder. Also, Peggy Carter gets mentioned.

“Oof.” Someone grunted out as they hit the floor. “That answers that question.” The person they were fighting ran over to see if they were okay.

“Do you want to stop or-?” Their opponent asked.

“I mean, can we? Is that okay with you?” They didn’t bother standing up.

“Yeah, guess that makes it a tie.”

“Well that was interesting to watch.” Clint said once Steve got back up.

The fight had gone on longer than either expected. Steve was used to fighting someone less resilient and Felicity wasn’t used to her increased stamina. Like she first guessed, Steve relied too heavily on being the stronger opponent and not enough on his actual fighting style. She doubted he’d learned any new fighting techniques after waking up from the ice. No one outright said it, but everyone kind of knew that Steve lost. To be fair, Felicity was an expert in Krav Maga and Steve tended to pull his punches whenever he sparred. Felicity usually did too, but there was a learning curve with her new strength.

“I think word you are looking for is ‘awesome’.” Pietro said.

“It was kinda awesome, wasn’t it?” Felicity said. She then turned to Steve. “Let me guess, the great Peggy Carter?”

“What about her?” Steve asked.

“She’s the one who taught you those moves, isn’t she?”

“How do you know that?”

“Because short people fight differently than tall people. Some of the moves you used are suited towards a smaller person trying to get a larger opponent to lose their footing. Or using their strength against them. I’m guessing she taught you some moves before the serum and they stuck.” Felicity explained.

 “She did. She, uh, she told me if I wanted to fight so badly, I should at least fight well.” Steve said fondly. “Let me guess, you learned from your father.”

“No, he was more swords and knives. Same with my brothers. My sisters taught me hand-to-hand and Sara kept me from getting rusty.” _It sucked, at the start, because the League doesn’t believe in going easy on newcomers or pulling punches. If you sword fight Ra’s, you better be ready to bleed. You try to fight Nyssa and you’ll have bruises the next day._

“How many different martial arts do you know?” Clint asked.

“Most of the forms originating in the Middle East and Asia, plus kickboxing.” Felicity answered. “Krav Maga is just my go-to. I’m really sweaty, so I’m gonna go now.” The blonde then ran off. Bucky trailed after her.

“That was kinda hot.” He said as they entered the elevator.

“Kinda?”

“Okay, it was incredibly hot.”

 

The elevator went up a few floors and then stopped. Tony got on. “Feeling less grr?” he asked Felicity.

“Yeah, a little.”

“Good, now I don’t have to tell Point Break not to come.”

“Ok, I know what all of those words mean, but in that order, I’m completely lost.” Felicity said after she and Bucky shared a confused look.

“Thor’s coming to visit tomorrow, and that means a party. Which you two are coming to.”

“No we’re not.”

“Yes, you are. Meet the god of thunder, mingle for like 45 minutes and then you can leave.”

“Five minutes.” Felicity haggled.

“Forty.”

“Six.”

“Half an hour.”

“Seven minutes and fourteen seconds.”

“Fifteen minutes.”

“Deal.” Felicity said. “That was easier than I thought.”

 

The party had already started when Felicity and Bucky got off the elevator the next evening. Luckily no one was paying much attention and the pair was able to show up unnoticed and slink over to a corner. The first person to notice their arrival was of course Steve who grabbed the arm of the man he was talking to and dragged him over.

“Hey, glad you finally showed up. Twins not coming?” He asked the couple.

“They’re not very good with crowds or new people. Then again, I’m not either but I at least know more than two people here. or I guess it’s more I met them but don’t remember and I’m trying to get those memories back. They’re not exactly huge party-people anyway.” Felicity started to babble. She then noticed Steve wasn’t alone. “Hi, Felicity Smoak.”

“Sam Wilson. We met a few weeks back.”

“Oh. Sorry, I don’t remember, that time is a little fuzzy still.” Felicity said awkwardly, while Bucky just sort of stared at Sam.

“Hey, man.” The VA counselor said to him as a sort of introduction. “You…look better than you did a while back.”

“Thanks. Sorry I tore your wing off and threw you off of a helicarrier.” Bucky said awkwardly.

“We’re good as long as it doesn’t happen again.”

Bucky nodded and they fell silent.

“Greetings my friends!” A booming voice yelled seconds later.

“Well, I guess Thor’s here.” Steve said. “Let’s go say hi.” He started to herd them over to where Thor was standing.

“Why can’t a break a window and jump out, again?” Bucky asked Felicity.

“Because that would be rude, and unlike me, you don’t know how to land correctly without hurting yourself.” She answered. They walked towards a crowd of people and got separated.

“Smoakie, you made it!” Tony exclaimed before dragging Felicity away.

“So you’re the infamous ‘Smoakie’, huh.” An African-American man next to Tony said. “Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes.” He introduced himself.

“And you’re the famous Rhodey.” Felicity said. “Tony wouldn’t shut up about you.”

“Oh really?”

“Every time someone shot down one of his ideas, we’d hear ‘Rhodey would agree with me’ or something like that.”

“I did not.”

“When Banner and I didn’t want to compete with you to see who could cause the biggest explosion, you told us ‘this is why Rhodey is better than you’.” The blonde pointed out.

She then started to look around for Steve, only to hear him say, “not sure what to do, Sam” with concern.

“I kinda….I’ll be right back.” She walked towards Steve. He was standing with his back to her and his arms held out like he was trying to calm someone down. She leaned around him slightly and saw Bucky. He looked agitated at best and in flashback mode at worst. “Move. Now.” She said forcefully.

“You really shouldn’t-“

“Move before I make you.” Felicity said. “I can take care of myself.”

“I’d listen to her, Steve.” Natasha said. He hesitantly stepped to the side.

“Everybody needs to back up, right now.” The blonde said in a no-nonsense voice. Almost everyone did as they were told. The few who didn’t were pulled away by either Steve or Thor.

Bucky’s hands were shaking and his eyes were glassy. “James, it’s Felicity.” She said in a calm, soothing voice. “You’re safe, just focus on my voice. You’re okay, no one’s gonna hurt you.”

 “It’s the rest of us that need to worry.” Someone cracked.

Felicity spun around to glare at the man. “Not. Helping. Get him out of here before I hurt him.” She hissed out before turning back to Bucky. “I need you to breathe with me, ok? Breathe in, that’s it, now breathe out slowly. Good. Breathe in, and let it out. One more time, and let it out.” Bucky stopped shaking and his eyes focused on Felicity.

“Felicity?” he asked.

“Yeah, its me. You had a moment, but nothing happened. Everything’s fine.” Felicity explained. “Do you know what caused it?”

“There were too many people. They kept crowding me and I felt like-“

“You couldn’t breathe?” she asked and he nodded. “I felt it too. Why don’t we go over there for a little bit?” she pointed to the corner of the room near the balcony.

“Aren’t you all supposed to be drinking my booze and making asses of yourselves?” Tony said after they’d moved away and everyone was staring after them.

 

“Your aura is calmer.” Thor said as he reached where Felicity and Bucky were. By now, only the Avengers, Hill, Pepper, Rhodey Jane and Sam were still there. “I am Thor, son of Odin.”

“I’m Felicity. This is Bucky.” The blonde said.

“It is a pleasure to meet you. I apologize that my presence caused you both undue stress.”

“It’s not your fault. Sometimes the past doesn’t like to stay there.”

“You speak as if from experience.” Thor said.

“I know I don’t look like it, but-“

Felicity’s response was cut off when something went crashing through the window next to them. She looked down and saw an arrow imbedded into the floor. She looked out the window at the building it had came from and saw nothing. Then, she saw lights approaching the tower.

“What was that, Jarvis?” Tony yelled.

“It appears we are under attack, sir.”

As soon as Jarvis said that, surveillance video began playing. More than a dozen armed men could be seen in the elevator. Another dozen were coming up the stairwell and a helicopter was outside about to land on the roof.

“Oh frack.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is not gonna end well...


	41. Chapter 41

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fight, the outcome, and the aftermath.

“Oh frack.” Felicity said as she saw the number of people they were up against. It would be difficult to defend against such a force, but not impossible, and not without the potential for casualties.

“Come to think of it, having all of us in one place probably wasn’t the best idea.” Clint said.

“Any chance this is another one of Felicity’s family reunions?” Tony asked. Most of his suits were on a lower floor, so he was stuck with just his gauntlets to fight with.

Everyone was getting ready for the fight that was about to happen. Natasha, Maria and Bucky were all either checking or loading their weapons. Clint had grabbed a bow and quiver from one of the ceiling vents. He climbed onto one of the rafters and stayed there. Steve, luckily, had left his shield upstairs earlier that day.

“No one in my family, except Bucky, uses guns, Tony. It’s beneath them, according to my father.” Felicity said. Almost every person they were seeing on the surveillance feed had a gun of some kind. “Really starting to regret wearing a dress right now.” She said as she took off her heels.

“You have a weapon of some form I hope, Lady Felicity.” Thor asked when he noticed she hadn’t gone with Jane and Pepper to safety.

“She’d probably be fine without a weapon.” Natasha remarked.

“Well, I brought this just in case.” Felicity said as she expanded the collapsible batons she’d grabbed at the last second before coming to the party.

“Sir, I believe some of these men may be the Hydra agents Ms. Smoak warned you about months ago. I managed to identify several well-known mercenaries as well. Several have crossed paths with Agents Barton and Romanoff in the past.” Jarvis announced. “I took the liberty of calling Director Coulson and informing him of the impending confrontation.”

“Great, everyone who doesn’t like us are friends now.” Clint said rolling his eyes. "Too bad Loki and Deathstroke couldn't make it."

“We only got about sixty second before we got company.” Steve interjected.

By now, the helicopter had landed on the roof. The door to the stairs opened right as the elevator opened and the crew from the helicopter broke in.

“It’s several dozen against ten, Captain.” One Hydra member, the only one in a suit, said. “Stand down and we can avoid this.”

“We’re gonna have to decline.”

“So be it.” He answered and Hydra and the mercenaries attacked.

Bucky, Natasha, Maria and Sam started shooting. Mostly, they were aiming at people’s arms and legs, trying to avoid kill shots. Thor knocked several people into walls with Mjonir, taunting them as they did so for trying to compete against ‘the might of Thor, son of Odin’. Tony and Rhodey made good use of their repulsor blasts, knocking people backwards and disorienting them. Clint was firing arrows every time a Hydra member tried to sneak up behind someone. Steve was alternating between using his shield for cover and straight up punching everyone and anyone he could reach. Felicity was holding her own with her batons and trying to remain focused on the present moment and not flashback to her fight in Siberia.

After a few minutes, something became evident about the fight that was going on. The mercenaries were fighting everyone. The Hydra members, who were the majority of the attackers, didn’t seem to be interested in the Avengers too much, they were focused on Felicity. They were fighting the Avengers, yes, but every time one of them got knocked down and got back up, they made a beeline for the blonde. At one point, she was fighting four people at once while everyone else was dealing with their opponents one-on-one.

“Anyone notice what I’m noticing?” Natasha said to Bucky and Hill who nodded. All three turned towards Felicity and tried to keep as many people off her as possible. SHIELD arrived right as the number of conscious, alive Hydra members and mercenaries whittled down to a handful. Soon, the only person left was a man fighting Felicity, and losing.

“You should’ve brought more men.” The blonde said once she got the man onto his knees. She had a look on her face no one except Bucky had seen before. It was the same look she wore when she shot Karpov. The man raised his hands in surrender. Felicity gave him a confused look before breaking his neck. Everyone except Bucky gasped.

“You didn’t have to kill him.” Steve said.

“Maybe not. But at least I gave him a quick death. Those guys too.” She pointed at a number of prone bodies behind her. “Besides, some would say that your reluctance, and SHIELD’s reluctance, to do what’s necessary is why Hydra has survived this long.” Felicity responded.  _Instead of killing or imprisoning known Hydra members, SHIELD started recruiting them. SHIELD should've killed them or at least kept them in prison for life. How much would've changed if Zola was sent to Nuremberg in 1945 instead of Washington DC?_

“Meaning?”

“Not everything deserves to live.” Felicity said before walking away. Steve started to sputter out an argument.

“Steve, let it go.” Bucky said.

“She killed people.”

“Yeah, so did a lot of other people in this room. And most of us haven’t been personally victimized by Hydra.” Clint said. “If it was me or Nat or Barnes or almost anyone else here, we’d have a much higher body count and you know it.”

“Doesn’t mean I like it.”

“Like it, don’t like it, it doesn’t matter. It’s done and no one can change it.” Natasha said.

On the other side of the room, Felicity seemed to snap out of her fugue. She realized what had just happened. Her eyes widened and her legs gave out from under her. “Oh, my god…..”

“It was understandable, you know.” A voice said from next to her. She looked up and saw Natasha. “After what happened, what they did to you, how recent that stuff is, most of them don’t want to admit it, but what you did was understandable, even if you regret it.” The redhead said her piece and then started to walk away.

“I don’t. Regret it that is.” She was shocked Hydra had come looking for her already, upset that they’d attacked her where she thought she’d be safe, she didn’t feel guilty. At all.

 

“But you’re ok?” Sara asked over the phone after Felicity was done telling her what happened.

“Physically, yeah. But mentally, what do you think? Not only did my worst nightmare come true, but after I escaped, it followed me here. Oh, and now my number is in the double digits.”

“You shouldn’t feel guilty for that.” Sara started to say.

“I don’t. And people seem to think that’s the problem.” 

“Ok, except the people you killed weren’t normal people, they weren’t even normal criminals, they were Nazis. Ones who experimented on you. No one should expect you to have a rational reaction to them attacking, and by your description, trying to kidnap you. I’m glad you’re ok. Call me tomorrow when you aren’t high on adrenaline.” She said before hanging up.

“You need a doctor?” A SHIELD agent asked.

“Nah, I'm fine.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure.” _My doctor’s in a different city anyway._ The agent practically sprinted away.

“Let me guess, we’re going out of town for a few days.” Bucky said walking up to her.

“Well, I am. Not letting these doctors anywhere near me and Caitlin’s in another state so….” She trailed off. “’I also….I kinda need to go back to Starling for a few days.”

“Is everything ok?”

“Yeah, I just….you know why I’m scared to go back. I feel like the longer I wait, the worse its gonna get.” Felicity didn’t know if she could feel safe in her house anymore, but she also couldn’t keep paying bills for a house she wasn’t living in. She owed it to her friends in Starling, and to herself, to go back and see how she felt. “And I want you to stay here.”

“What? Why?”

“Need to do this on my own.” Felicity got into the elevator and went downstairs.

 

Bucky walked over to the broken window and looked outside. He suddenly felt movement nearby, and the feeling that he was being watched. He looked around and saw that no one was paying attention to his side of the room.

“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t kill you.” he said quietly.

Someone dropped from the ceiling and landed silently in front of him. “Because I fulfilled my duty.”

“You shot an arrow at my wife.”

“I missed intentionally, which you are aware of. Lady Zahara likely is too. My orders were to observe, and make myself known if it was necessary.” The archer answered. “You were unaware you were about to be attacked. My options were limited.”

“And if they have questions about the part you played?” Bucky said, referring to the Avengers. He knew the team was unaware that the building wasn’t only being watched by Hydra.

Bucky and Felicity both knew someone from the League had been watching the tower since the day after Ra’s visited. Ra’s never outright said it, but Felicity being taken unsettled him more than he was willing to admit. The tower being watched served two purposes: Ra’s was assured that his daughter was safe and the League knew was able to stay one step ahead of the Avengers as they hunted Hydra. One well-placed directional mic and one bugged plant was all it took for the assassin to hear everything that happened on the top floor of Stark Tower.

“It has been taken care of.” The archer said before taking a step backwards out of the broken window, vanishing into the night. Bucky sighed and went downstairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Felicity's attitude regarding what happened is gonna be touched on next chapter.
> 
> In regards to the 'Zola being sent to Nuremberg' comment: what I'm referring to is the Nuremberg trials that took place after WWII. As far as I know, he was never tried for the war crimes he committed.


	42. Chapter 42

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Wanda explains why Felicity,a Jewish woman, might not feel bad about dead Nazis, Felicity has an inevitable breakdown, Natasha has a heart and people go to Temple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was driven by my anger about two things:  
> 1) way too many edits/fics/fanarts completely erasing the heritage of canonically Jewish characters. It's not that hard to draw an ugly Hanukkah sweater instead of an ugly Christmas sweater.  
> 2) the Arrowverse crossover- I have a lot of issues with that. It's an entire rant that you don't want to read.

It was almost dawn by the time SHIELD had left with the last of the arrested Hydra members. No one had seen Felicity since around 1am when she went down to her floor claiming she needed to clear her head. The blonde was still hiding out in her room when Bucky, Pietro and Wanda came upstairs for breakfast the next morning. What had happened was still on everyone’s minds and the main topic of conversation. Bucky and the twins mostly tuned the conversation out until Natasha said something.

“She said she didn’t regret it.” Natasha said in response to something Tony had said.

“How can she not regret it? Felicity killed several people. She’s a good person, I don’t understand how she can feel fine about it. I know they were Hydra but-” Steve said back.

Pietro scoffed and rolled his eyes, while Wanda set her coffee mug down and turned to face the captain. “Based on how stupid you sound right now, I think there is thing or two you don’t know about Felicity. She will feel bad soon. She just doesn’t feel bad now because of who they were. They do not fit in same category as normal criminals or people her team fight, at least for her.”

“What do you-“

“Hydra are Nazis. Like Pietro and I, Felicity is Jewish. Some of her family survive Holocaust, but some did not survive. Hydra still existing is traumatic enough. They also experimented on her, which is even more traumatizing. On top of that, after she was free and starting to feel safe again, they came after her again. Do you blame her for not feeling guilty for their deaths right away?”

“You’re also….you act like what she did last night doesn’t line up with her previous actions where they’re involved. Her position on Hydra and members of Hydra has been the same for the last five years. They should all be in prison or dead.” Bucky said after a pause. “There are only about two things that Felicity has a black-and-white, it’s-not-up-for-debate stance on. This is one of them.”

“I’m not saying I need either of you to defend me, but thanks for the support.” Felicity said from the doorway. “I don’t want to have this discussion again, so I’m gonna say this once. I don’t feel bad for what happened. I will later, but right now I can’t afford to. Anger is the only emotion that makes sense to me right now. I’m still processing Siberia, I need time to process this before I can feel anything else. They did terrible things to me, I escaped, they found me, they followed me here and they tried to take me, again. The fact that those six people I killed can’t hurt anyone else is all I can focus on right now or I might lose my mind.” Felicity explained. “The fact that I killed a group of Hydra members complicates things more than most of you can imagine. They want me and everyone like me dead. I never wanted to kill anyone, but these are the same kind of people who tried to wipe my people out. I can’t find it in me right now to feel bad that they’re dead. If they were any one else, any other organization, any other criminal I’ve faced, I probably wouldn’t have killed anyone unless I had to. But they weren’t, they were Nazis and I have a bit of a blind spot when it comes to them. Because like Wanda was saying, it’s not just about what they did to me or to Bucky, its so much worse than that. Nazis still being around, Hydra still existing, that’s a fear I’ve had since I was a child, and the only nightmare I’ve never been able to get rid of. My worst nightmare came true, and then it got worse. And then I came back to New York and everyone kept trying to make me live it again because they had to know. And I just-”

“Ok, that’s it.” Natasha said putting her coffee cup down. “Everyone except Wanda and Felicity, get out. Tony ask Pepper and Maria to come up here. Thor, get Darcy and Jane up here.”

“This is my-“

“I do not understand-“

Natasha silenced both Tony and Thor’s questions with a look. The men disappeared downstairs and fifteen minutes later, Maria and Pepper were upstairs, Darcy had left earlier that day to explore New York and Jane was in ‘the zone’ working on something in one of the labs.

“I’m not upset about being called away from my mountain of paperwork, but why are we here, Natasha?” Maria asked.

“Because we are having a girls’ day.” Natasha said handing her a mimosa. “Felicity and Wanda need it, and I kinda do too.” She handed mimosas to Felicity and Wanda who both shook their heads.

“Alcohol and my power is not good combination.”

“Doesn’t have any effect on me, and orange juice really shouldn’t be fizzy.” Felicity said.

“Fine, more for me.” Nat said shrugging.

“So, what are we doing for girl’s day?” Pepper asked.

“Well, this is mostly for Felicity and Wanda, so they get to pick.”

“I’ve never had a girls’ day.” Wanda said a little embarrassed.

“That’s ok. Felicity?”

“Most of my girls’ days or girls’ nights wouldn’t exactly help me relax, so you don’t wanna ask me.” Felicity said.

“What did you do?” Hill asked out of curiosity.

“Well, the first female friend I had was Sara. We sparred until one of us got tired and then we’d paint our nails or watch movies.” Felicity said. “I guess we could do that, minus the fighting of course. And if Wanda wants to.” The woman in question nodded.

“Just as long as we also eat junk food.” Pepper said. “Before we do any of that, I need to change into something less CEO. I’ll be right back.”

“I better go tell Johnson I’ll be out unless there’s an emergency.” Hill said before walking over to a corner of the room and pulling out her phone.

“Why?” Felicity asked Natasha.

“Why what?”

“You know what. I’ve said maybe three words to you. You’ve just been indifferent to us up until now. What changed? Why are you being so nice?”

“I was trying to give you space. I know what it’s like to have someone mess with your head. Some of the guys do too, but their solution is to hit something, which seems counterproductive right now. I’ve also broken down enough times that I know what it looks like when someone’s drowning.” Natasha answered. “If you don’t want to be here, you don’t have to stay.”

“I do, I just….ugh, the last month has messed with my head too much. I’m not used to people, especially other women, being nice to me. They usually are only when they have an ulterior motive. That combined with what happened is making me a little….paranoid.”

“I do have an ulterior motive. I want to be friends.  I know Pepper does too, Maria probably as well.” Natasha said.

Girls’ day was nice and uneventful. They watched a couple cheesy romantic comedies and then started feeling comfortable enough around one another to start talking.

 “and then he had to explain the overflowing bathtub to Fury.” Maria said, finishing up her story about her most memorable mission as a SHIELD agent. “What about you, Felicity? Any memorable missions with your team?”

“Let’s see, missions I did for my team. There was the time I purposefully got caught in an illegal casino, or when I was bait for a serial killer or that time I got shot.”

“I kinda want to hear all those stories to be honest.” Pepper said. “You got shot?”

“Yeah, there was this hacker, he called himself the Clock King. He was robbing banks. I managed to pinpoint his signal, but he used my hack to destroy my system. We set a trap for him and he took the bait. I had to do my thing at the bank he was robbing though. He tried to escape and Sara ran after him. At one point, she lost him, I ran into the room right as he was about to shoot her and pushed her out of the way. That’s how I got that scar on my shoulder.”

“When I first started at SHIELD, Barton and I went on a mission. It went south and we didn’t have an extraction plan. We managed to get out of Canada by using what he called Plan Z.”

“What’s Plan Z?”

“He took out his hearing aids, turned to me and said ‘I’m deaf and you don’t speak English’. It was surprisingly effective.”

“Hey, as long as it works right?”

The rest of the day was pretty much the same. Watching cheesy movies, swapping stories and getting to know one another.

 

A little after 5, Felicity stood up. “This was nice but I gotta go.”

“Everything ok?” Natasha asked.

“Yeah, it’s just…..it’s Friday night.”

“Date night?” Pepper asked.

“No, it’s-“

“Shabbat service.” Wanda said. Felicity nodded.

“I don’t go as often as I should and after everything….”

“Can Pietro and I come with you? We haven’t been in long time either.” He hadn’t been in a synagogue since their mother’s funeral. Wanda went a few times after her death, but it just didn’t feel the same. They still observed, but they did so at home instead, until they were taken.

“Yeah, of course.” Felicity said. “I looked the closest synagogue up, their service starts at 6.”

Felicity, Wanda and Pietro made it to the synagogue just in time and grabbed seats in the back of the sanctuary. The service was different from the ones Felicity and the twins were used to, but it still felt very familiar. Overall, the service felt very short to them despite being over an hour long and the next thing they knew, the rabbi was reminding everyone about upcoming events. He concluded by telling the congregation there was grape juice and challah in the foyer of the building for anyone who wanted to take part. The trio looked at one another before heading into the room. They grabbed food and found seats at a table towards the back of the room and out of the way.

“Is this seat taken?” Someone said from behind Felicity, who jumped. She turned and saw Bruce Banner standing behind her. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”

“You didn’t.” They just weren’t expecting to run into anyone they knew.

“So, what do you three think of the challah?”

“It is….different.” Pietro said trying to sound diplomatic. He loved the challah his mother used to make and would never concede that anyone else’s came anywhere close.

“It’s good, my Bubbe’s is better. Now that I think of it, I should ask my mom for the recipe. challah and rugelach are the only two things I know how to make.” Felicity said. “Oh, she also made a killer brisket, but I haven't managed to perfect it yet..”

“Maybe one day we’ll get to try it.” Bruce said. “I know you’re sick of the question, but how are you?”

“I feel a little less lost now. I know it sounds kinda cliché, but going to services always filled me with this sense of peace. It’s been a long time since I felt that way.”

“It’ll come back.”

“I’m not so sure, I mean, every time I looked at one of my scars, I’m reminded of what they did to me. Every time someone gives me a pitying look that they think I can’t see. I feel like I can’t escape it.” Felicity said.

“You already have, you’re just in a strange place right now emotionally. I’ve been there and I know, it sucks, but forward is the only way through.” Bruce said.

Felicity was about to say something else when her phone buzzed. It was a text from Bucky. There was a picture of him standing in front of the building with a message attached.

**> >Figured you might want a ride. Ready to go when you are.**

“Sorry, James is here. Do you want a ride or-”

“Yes. In about five seconds, a small group of stereotypical Jewish grandmothers and mothers are gonna descend upon us asking who the three of you are, and why I haven’t introduced any of you to all the nice people here and did you know that Mrs. Shapiro has a nephew who’s a nice Jewish boy that Wanda might like to meet. I know they mean well, but it’s a little stifling.”

“So Sokovia and US is not that different.” Wanda said wryly.

The group said their goodbyes and walked out of the building. Bucky was sitting on the steps of the building when they went outside. He stood up and kissed Felicity on the forehead. “You could’ve just come inside.”

He led them over to the car. “I…wasn’t sure if it was a good idea. Maybe next time?” Bucky remembered believing in something before the war, he hadn’t figured out what religion he was raised with, but he remembered believing. After everything he’d been through though, he found it difficult to believe in much of anything.

“Well, thank you for ride.” Wanda said. Bucky nodded and the ride home was quiet except for the radio show Felicity had turned on when the silence was killing her. They arrived back at the tower and headed to their floor. Bucky stopped Felicity before she headed into their room.

“Are you still heading to Central City?”

“Yeah, I’m gonna leave the day after tomorrow. Check in with Caitlin, spend a day or two with Barry, then go to Starling.” Felicity explained.

“I don’t like this, you going alone. It…if you’re alone and something happens.” Bucky said.

“Nothing’s gonna happen. I’m a trained assassin and everyone I’m gonna be around is either a superhero or vigilante. I’ll call you everyday, multiple times a day.” Felicity reassured him. “I need to do this.”

“You know I can’t argue with you when you give me that face.” Bucky said before sighing and saying, “everyday, and if you don’t answer, I’m allowed to do something drastic.”


	43. Chapter 43

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint makes a big mistake and Felicity takes a trip.

**New York**

Felicity left New York in the late morning on Sunday. When Bucky got back from taking her to the train station, he immediately went to the gym to work off some of his anxiety. Upstairs, Natasha walked into the common room to find Clint eating what looked like cookies.

“Oh, my god. This is so good.” Clint said in between bites.

“Do you two want a moment alone?” Natasha asked. He made a vague disagreeing noise as she went searching through the cabinets. “Where’d you get that anyway?”

“The container was just sitting on the counter.”

Nat froze. “They weren’t by any chance in a large Tupperware container with a blue top and a pink sticky note on it, was it?”

“….Yes?” Clint said as he put the plate down. “Wait, was this yours?” She shook her head.  “Stark’s? Banner’s?” Two more nos. “Steve?” Another no. “I ate Barnes’ food didn’t I?” she nodded.

“You might not wanna be here when he finds out.”

“They’re just cookies. I can go to the restaurant and buy more.”

“No, you can’t. They’re Felicity’s homemade rugelach. She made them for him before she left.”

“Ok, but if one of us asks, she can give us the recipe and I can convince Bruce or someone to make more and then he won’t know, right?” Natasha didn’t reply. “Right?” He looked at Nat and saw she was looking behind him so he turned around. He was met by Bucky Barnes ice blue eyes staring at him.

“Hey, man.” Clint said awkwardly. “Judging by the murder-look you’ve got right now, I’m gonna assume you heard what I just said.” Bucky clenched his jaw tighter. “Yeah, so funny story. I was looking through the cabinets and stuff, because I was hungry, and I found this container. And I might have eaten the rugelach Felicity made for you.” Bucky’s glare intensified. “In fairness, the container didn’t have your name on it.”

Barnes reached slightly behind Barton and held up the sticky note. Written in blue ink was the sentence ‘J- I made these so you won’t miss me too much. Enjoy. -F’ with a little heart drawn next to the ‘F’.

“Don’t worry though, because I’m gonna call her and get the recipe as soon as I can.”

“Now.” Bucky said still glaring.

“Well, I needed to talk-“ Bucky’s eyes darkened as he stared Clint down. “Yeah, I’m gonna call her now.” He practically sprinted from the room.

“You know she’s not gonna give him the recipe.” Natasha remarked. “She won’t even give it to you.”

“Oh, I know.” Bucky said.

* * *

 

**Central City**

Felicity’s first stop was Central City. She went to Star Labs almost immediately to see Caitlin. The doctor was as professional as ever, but Felicity could tell she wasn’t doing well. One or two questions later and Felicity knew why. Team Flash had discovered the day before that Dr. Wells knew there was a chance the particle accelerator would malfunction and he still turned it on anyway. This rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, particularly Caitlin who’s fiancé died trying to shut it down. After giving her a shoulder to cry on for awhile, Caitlin released Felicity with a clean bill of health.

She spent a few days with Barry, Caitlin, Cisco and Iris. The last two believed Felicity’s memory loss was caused by the car accident-slash-abduction and she’d stayed in New York to recover. Things were a little off with everyone but she chalked that up to stress, the awkwardness regarding Felicity’s amnesia and obvious tension between Barry and Iris. After three days in Central City, Felicity took a train to Starling.

* * *

 

**Starling City**

Felicity’s train arrived in Starling in the early afternoon. She went to her house and discovered someone, probably Sara, Digg or Oliver, had cleaned up whatever mess Hydra had made. After restlessly drifting around her house for a few hours, Felicity reasoned it was late enough to go to the foundry but early enough that the team wouldn’t be out on patrol yet.

She drove to Verdant, which was closed for renovations and sat in her car for at least half an hour. Deciding she had to do this eventually, she took a deep breath before heading inside and entering the foundry. She could hear an argument happening downstairs. Digg, Oliver and Roy were standing with their backs to the stairs, talking to someone.

“-can’t keep doing this. We need to find the person doing this, not just his lackeys.”Oliver was saying. “We need-"

“Felicity.” Thea answered.

“I don’t know if she’s ready for that.” Digg said.

“No, Felicity.” Thea said pointing behind Digg, Oliver and Roy. They all turned to look.

“Hey guys.” Felicity said quietly. Everyone rushed over to hug her.

“Yay, Blondie’s back.” Roy exclaimed.

“Well, I’m not back-back. Or I’m not really sure, I guess. I just…. I thought it was time for me to come back, even if I’m just visiting.” Felicity explained. “There’s also….some stuff I need to tell you.”

“What is it?” Oliver and Digg both asked, concerned.

“You have to promise not to interrupt what I’m about to say. I can barely bring myself to talk about it once, please don’t make me have to restart it. And this can’t leave this room under any circumstances.”

“Of course.”

“Hydra…..Hydra didn’t just torture me in Siberia. They, uh, you know how James is actually Bucky Barnes, Captain America’s best friend?” Everyone nodded. “And how he’s still alive and healthy because of the supersoldier serum and because Hydra kept freezing him if they didn’t need him?” More nods. “Well… they….I have the supersoldier serum too. Or a version of it, like Bucky. They….Hydra had been trying to recreate the formula for years, and Karpov injected me with it. He was gonna….his plan was to have two Winter Soldiers instead of one, and since we cared about one another, they were gonna use James to keep me in line and vice versa. He didn’t….Karpov didn’t count on Bucky bringing as much help as he did to Siberia. That’s….that’s partially why I lost my memory.”

“You’re a supersoldier?” Oliver asked.

“Yes.”

“And it’s not like Mirakuru?”

“No. No rage, no hallucinations, and Caitlin says I’m fine.”

“You told Caitlin before you told us.” Digg said.

“I needed a doctor I could trust, and one SHIELD couldn’t claim was unqualified to treat me.”

“So, what happens now?”

“I don’t really know. It’s just…. I didn’t see the point in keeping it from you.” Felicity explained. “If I…come back to the team at some point, I didn’t think it was fair if you guys didn’t know.” She turned to leave.

“Wait, where are you going? You’re not leaving already are you?” Thea asked.

“I’ll be in town for a few more days, I just….I’m not ready to be down here yet.” _It’s too much like Siberia._

“Fair enough.” Digg said. “Felicity? You know we still have your back, right? This doesn’t change anything.”

“I know.”

 

The next afternoon, Felicity was meeting Thea for lunch. As soon as Felicity left Verdant, Thea texted her asking about meeting up. She felt nervous as she sat in Big Belly Burger and she didn’t really know why. Maybe it was because Thea was one of the few people who actually knew what happened to Felicity that she hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to already.

“Hey.” Thea said as she sat down and Felicity jumped about six feet in the air. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“It’s fine, I just kinda zoned out for a minute there.” Felicity said with a laugh. “How…. How are you?”

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” the brunette said with a raised eyebrow. “I’m doing pretty well. Work’s, you know, work, but the club’s closed for renovations so I get a break from dealing with entitled drunk people. Malcolm showed up two days after you were taken, that wasn’t fun.”

“He did? What happened? You’re okay right?”

“I’m fine. He showed up, tried to get me to leave with him and I told him I had the head of ARGUS on speed dial. He gave me some speech about us being a family and I told him where to shove it. ” Thea said. “Biological or not, my dad died back in 2007.”

“How did he take it?” Felicity wondered. Malcolm Merlyn didn’t like hearing the word ‘no’ and that concerned Felicity. He destroyed the Glades and he killed 503 people including his own son, kidnapping Thea wouldn’t be out of character for him.

“Well, Sara called right after I told him to shove it, so he ran off. Haven’t seen or heard from him since then, I hope a piano fell on him or something.” Thea said nonchalantly. “Now, lets talk about something less serious, like are you gonna be in town for the Verdant reopening?” The pair continued talking for a short while.

Unfortunately, the blonde couldn’t avoid the elephant in the room forever. “So, I know this isn’t the best way to ask, but how are you, really?” Thea asked.

Felicity sighed. “I’m…getting there. I’ve gotten some of my memories back but some stuff is still fuzzy. I remember you, and Oliver, Roy, Sara, and pretty much everyone else, its just events that I can’t recall. Or I remember half of what happened but I don’t remember everything. Its exhausting and confusing. Physically, I’m fine though. Mentally, not so much.”

“If you ever need someone to talk to, you know I’m here right? You’re not alone.”

“I know. It’s just….not easy to talk about.”

“That’s understandable.” Thea said before she looked at the clock and saw the time. “Uh, I’m sorry I’ve gotta go. I get to spend my whole afternoon arguing with distributors.”

“It’s ok. Go do whatever it is club owners do.” Felicity said as she watched Thea leave.

 

That evening, Felicity was sitting in her living room when she heard a knock at the door. Looking through the peephole, she saw Sara on the other side. She opened the door and the other blonde barged right past her, talking kind of fast.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I had a League thing otherwise I would’ve been here last night.” She put the duffle bag she was carrying down on the couch.

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m staying here overnight. I mean, I kinda figured that you might not want to stay alone-“

“What do you mean?”

“Nyssa might’ve told me that Hydra was in your house. I didn’t know how safe you feel here, alone, and as your best friend I thought I’d help you out.” Sara explained. “I know Digg changed the locks and Oliver and Roy cleaned up, but you still know they were here.”

Felicity practically sprinted over to the other blonde and engulfed her in a hug. “Sara? Thank you.”

“Anytime. Now, go call Barnes so he’ll stop bombarding my phone with texts.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you think Felicity will come back to the team or not?


	44. Chapter 44

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two people from Felicity's past appear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter and the next one are happening concurrently

**Starling City**

A week later, Felicity was still in Starling. Unfortunately, she hadn’t come back to the team but the team seemed to do just fine without her. Thea had spent the two weeks everyone was ‘away’ learning how to use Felicity’s system, and she’d gotten quite good at it. When Digg, Oliver and Roy came back from New York without Felicity, the brunette had volunteered to do the job ‘just until she comes back’. They weren’t quite the well-oiled machine that Original Team Arrow was, but they were getting there.

Another issue was Felicity’s anxiety regarding the Arrow Cave. It was cold, and dark and underground. All three qualities reminded her too much of the Siberian base. She could only stay down there for an hour at most before she felt like she couldn’t breathe.

Her predicament boiled down to one sad fact. Everyone wanted to help her, but no one quite knew how to do that. Oliver and Roy could clean up the mess Hydra made in Felicity’s house all they wanted. Digg could keep changing the locks and Sara could volunteer to practically move in with her so Felicity wasn’t alone, but no one could give her back her peace of mind.

To make things slightly worse, her mother came to visit unannounced. The blonde hacker loved her mother, but this was the worst time possible for her to visit.

After a long day of avoiding questions and trying not to break down or yell, Felicity and Donna were having dinner, Big Belly Burger, in her apartment. The power suddenly cut out. Seconds later, the television turned on. A modulated voice started to speak.

“We are Brother Eye. Judgement has been rendered against this city. A sentence carried out. An earthquake, a siege, this is what comes next. A new life you will live on your knees and it will take nothing more than the push of a button. We are in control now, and this is just the beginning. Let there be light.” The power turned back on.

 

 

It took an hour for Felicity to make it to the Arrowcave and discover the virus, or whatever Brother Eye was using, deleted itself after it was done. An hour after that, they made another announcement that they were attacking one of Starling’s banks. During the attack, Felicity managed to sneak a peak at the code and make a horrifying discovery: it was her virus, the ‘supervirus’ she and Cooper had written years earlier. Now, Felicity was home, trying to get something through to her mother.

“You don’t seem to comprehend that I can’t make the whole world stop because you just decided to show up on my doorstep. I have responsibilities.”

“Yes, I know Felicity. You have work, you have work, work, work, work”

“No, no, no, you don’t understand. It is so much more than work. All you care about is my love life or how much cleavage I don’t show.”

“That is not true.”

“It is completely true! And I’m sorry, I’m sorry I’m such a disappointment to you!”

Donna stopped for a moment. “I’m not as smart as you Felicity, or your father, I know that. Even when you were only six years old, I could barely keep up with you two. And….maybe I wasn’t always the mother you wanted but I was always there. I stayed, and I tried.”

“I…I need some air.” Felicity said as she left to take a walk. When she came back in, Donna was in the living room packing. “I’m glad you’re still here.”

“You are a terrible liar Felicity. Might be the only thing we have in common.”

“’I have blonde hair.”

“You dye it.”

“You’re right, we’re different and its always gonna be that way and its not easy-.”

“No, it’s totally my fault for just showing up here uninvited. Seriously, I think I just got so excited about this free flight.”

“’What?”

“My plane ticket, I got an email saying I’d won some contest. Free first-class round-trip to Starling.”

“Email?” Felicity said getting to her feet. Donna ignored her and kept packing. “Mom, someone wanted you to be here.” then, the front door was broken in and two men forced their way inside. They put black bags over both their heads and took the two blondes away.

 

The bag was pulled off of Felicity’s head. She looked around and saw Donna tied to the chair next to her. She also saw a computer set up with the Brother Eye logo on it. _Ok, clearly not Hydra then. That’s….good? if they aren’t Hydra, they probably don’t know what I can do. They want Felicity Smoak not a Winter Soldier._

A door opened and someone stepped into the room. “Felicity Smoak. Just the woman I wanted to see.” A modulated voice said.

“Who are you? what do you want from me?”

“You really don’t know?” the voice asked before the person stepped into the light. It was Cooper. Who was dead, supposedly. “I thought you never forget your first love.”

“You died. They told me-“

“That I committed suicide, right? The NSA needed a hacker with game for cyber espionage, and I needed to not be in prison for the rest of my life. Because of what the NSA wanted me doing, it was….advantageous for me to be dead.”

“When I found out you died, I was devastated. I loved you.”

Cooper then launched into his explanation of his master plan. He needed Felicity to hack the Treasury Departments encryption to reroute the truck carrying a boatload of money. He flew Donna in so he’d have some motivation in town. All he wanted was money, yet Felicity was a sellout for growing up and getting a job in her field. _Honestly, this hypocrisy is killing me. And pissing me off. I haven’t changed. I never wanted to change the world, not like you did. I wanted to make the world better, or at least not any worse. I’ve done more good after becoming a ‘sellout’ than you could ever realize._

During his explanation, Felicity’s phone kept ringing. Cooper got annoyed and smashed it with his foot. The blonde hacker felt slightly relieved. Smashing her phone was a stupid idea, she’d installed JARVIS onto the device once her secret was out. Destroying the phone initiated emergency protocols. JARVIS would contact the local law enforcement and her team with the phone location. Given the situation, JARVIS might also contact ARGUS.

 

“Felicity’s never more than five feet from her phone.” Oliver said as she failed to pick up, again.

“I’m afraid Miss Smoak’s phone has been destroyed.”

“Ollie, why is the ceiling talking?” Thea asked.

“My name is JARVIS I am an artificial intelligence designed by Tony Stark. Felicity installed me into her system when she returned a few days ago. In the event of her phone being destroyed or compromised, I am instructed to inform her closest allies of her location.”

“Where is she?”

“She is in a warehouse off of Birch Lane. It is the base of the organization Brother Eye. They abducted Miss Smoak to coerce her into hacking into the GPS system of an armored truck.”

“How do you know all that?”

“I am always listening.” JARVIS answered.

 

Felicity did as Cooper asked. She knew if she stalled it would be suspicious and she wouldn’t risk him hurting her mother to convince her to hurry up. After she told him she was done, he ziptied her to the terminal and he left with his goons. This was Felicity’s chance to free herself and escape. She’d never learned how to get out of a ziptie, but thanks to the serum, she was strong enough to simply break the plastic. She only hoped she could break it without Cooper seeing it. He came back in a minute later.

“I did what you asked, you don’t have to kill us.”

Cooper responded by pointing the gun directly in her face.

“Hey!” Donna yelled. “You wanna wave that gun at me, fine, but don’t you dare threaten my daughter.”

He lowered the gun but was still holding Felicity’s face. “Here I thought you were all nails and hair.”

“Try single mom working sixty hours a week in six-inch heels for tips in order to raise that genius child you see right there. I may not understand all this cyber-whatever, but I know without that gun, you wouldn’t last ten second against my girl.”

While Donna had been talking, Felicity saw an opening and took it. She’d loosened the plastic enough to slip her hand out by the time Cooper turned his attention back to her.

“Too bad she doesn’t have ten seconds.” He brought the gun back up to her face.

Felicity’s hand shot out and grabbed the weapon. She hit Cooper across the face with it, maybe putting a little too much force behind the blow. Cooper went down, and Felicity stepped over him to get to her mother.

“Are you okay?” Felicity asked.

“I’m ok. Are you okay?”

“I’m okay.”

The rest was kind of a blur. Police and ARGUS agents came to arrest Cooper and his minions. Felicity and Donna both gave statements to the police. They went back to Felicity’s and Thea stopped by to bring Felicity a new phone. As soon as the phone was turned on, it lit up like a Christmas tree with dozens of missed calls and texts. Donna had gone into the kitchen to make them both coffee while Felicity answered her messages. The pot had finished brewing when she walked into the kitchen, still on the phone.

“No, you don’t need to fly here…of course you are…I’m okay, I promise…..no, it didn’t….look, I’m kinda exhausted so if we could….thanks…..I love you too. Bye.”

“Who was that?” Her mother asked.

“James…..my boyfriend.” Felicity said awkwardly.

“Is he the reason why you clearly haven’t been living here?”

“What?”

“I’m not stupid Felicity. This house is way too clean for you. No one’s slept here in like a month.” Donna explained. “So, did you move in with him or what?”

“I had to go to New York for work a few weeks ago, and right now, I’m debating whether or not to just move there. I actually came back here to try and figure things out. I was here for a week before you showed up.”

“Does he have a preference?”

“No, just wants me to be happy. He can do his job anywhere, so….”

“Tell me about him. What’s he do? What is he like?” Donna asked.

They spent the ride to the airport talking about Bucky. Or rather, Felicity was telling Donna the watered-down, safe for public knowledge version of how they met and so on. As Felicity returned to the house, she realized she’d made a decision about whether to stay in Starling or New York.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What decision do you think she made?


	45. Chapter 45

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SHIELD had questions, Ra's makes a decision and the Avengers get left with a mystery. (Or what happened elsewhere while Felicity was in Starling.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter and last chapter are taking place concurrently.

**The Cube-SHIELD Base-Undisclosed Location**

The Cube used to be a standard SHIELD base, no more or less critical than the dozens of other bases the agency once had. After Hydra revealed itself and SHIELD was able to keep disloyal agents from overrunning the facility, it became a much more important piece. Instead of remaining a run-of-the-mill base, the Cube had become a processing center of sorts. Hydra members were captured, taken to the Cube and questioned before being sent to the Fridge, the Raft or another secure SHIELD prison.

Two SHIELD agents walked down the hallway of the secret base. The last week and a half had been very eventful with a new influx of prisoners. The staff would normally process ten or so people a week, but after the attack on Stark Tower and what happened in Siberia, the facility had more prisoners than they knew what to do with. They were struggling to stay on top of everything. Identifying prisoners wasn’t the problem, interrogating them was. The Cube simply didn’t have enough trained interrogators to keep up with the sudden increase in demand. Coulson had no choice but to call in a little back up.

“You know, I kinda missed this.” One of the agents, Bobbi Morse, said. She’d been working undercover in Hydra until two weeks ago. Her partner blew his cover and they both were made. Coulson stationed her at the Playground shortly after, but sent her to the Cube to help with the interrogations.

“Really? I thought undercover was more your thing.” Mack asked.

“Undercover can get dicey and complicated. Interrogation is straightforward. I miss that. Besides, its hard to know who to trust undercover.”

“I’ve heard that.” An agent said walking up to the pair. He handed Bobbi a file. “Guy in there’s named Michael Caldera. His father and older brother are known Hydra members. That’s all we know.”

Morse flipped through the file. “What do we want to know?”

“Not sure what the director’s looking for. Knowing what they were planning would be good. Confirming who they were after would be better. Answers to both would probably get you promoted.” The agent answered. “So far, none of the interrogations have yielded anything valuable.”

“Ready?” Bobbi asked Mack, who nodded and they walked into the room.

* * *

 

**The Playground**

Skye took a deep breath and braced herself before opening the door to Vault D. She hadn’t seen Ward since the team stopped Garrett and Grant was arrested. A not insignificant part of her wanted to run in the other direction, but Ward had apparently insisted that he would only talk to Skye. She knew May was worried he’d manipulate her, or at least try to, but she wanted to prove to Ward, and herself, that he didn’t affect her.

_You can do this. Get the information and leave him to rot._ She told herself as she walked down the stairs into Ward’s prison.

“Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.” Ward said when he saw who it was. Skye kept the angry look on her face and sat down. “I told Coulson weeks ago that I was willing to speak to you. To give you intelligence. Why now? Something bad happen.”

“Pete Washington, Michael Caldera, Kruno Modric David Goins. All Hydra members, do you have any information on them?”

“How have you been?” Skye stood up and grabbed the tablet next to her, about to walk away. “A few of the names sound familiar. How is the team?”

“I’m gonna say this once, I’m not gonna believe a word that comes out of your mouth. But if a single word is about anything other than the question that I’m asking, I walk.”

“Ok.” Ward said in surrender. “I’ve heard of Modric only by reputation. He was working with this doctor in Europe. Garrett claimed their work would’ve handed Hydra the world once it was perfected. Washington and Goins are specialists. When a Hydra head wanted someone….brought to them, their team usually did the dirty work.”

“So they’d sneak in, grab someone and disappear into the night. Let’s say a target couldn’t be snuck out, that there was no clandestine way to abduct them, what would Hydra do in that instance?”

“When sneaking around doesn’t work, they find a replacement. If they can’t, they might go in the opposite direction. Full on attack, huge diversion and in the confusion, they’d strike. Whoever they were after would need to be pretty crucial though.”

“How crucial?”

“Skye, I missed-“ Ward began to say before Skye hit a button and turned the wall opaque.

“I told you, stay on topic.” She said as she walked away.

“Skye? Skye. Skye!” Ward yelled after her.

“Well, that was a bust.” Tripp said to May.

“Not quite. Ward said the target would need to be pretty crucial. I’d call the second Winter Soldier in existence pretty crucial.”

“Why her and not him?”

“Not sure, maybe they thought she’d be easier to subdue.”

Sam Koenig came running into the room. “Assistant Director May, we received a transmission from the Cube. Modric started talking.”

“Send it to Coulson. He should still be at Stark Tower.”

* * *

 

**Nanda Parbat**

Ra’s al Ghul was visibly furious, which was rare. The Demon Head had spent centuries learning and perfecting his emotionless façade. He allowed his words and actions to convey his moods, not his face. The last time anyone had seen him this angry was when Talia’s mother had been killed. Assassins who would normally bow in respect as the Demon Head passed found themselves ducking out of his path. No one wanted to be seen, much less be in his way.

As Ra’s walked away from the dungeons of Nanda Parbat, the interrogation he’d just performed replayed in his head. He needed to act, he needed to act fast and he needed to act mercilessly. When he reached his private quarters, he barked out an order at the closest guard.

_ “Bring me Sarab and call Ta-Er Al Sahfer immediately.” _

Sarab was in Ra’s quarters within five minutes, which was impressive considering he was on the other side of the compound when Ra’s demanded to see him. Kirigi arrived a moment later with a cell phone which he put on speaker and left.

_ “I have an assignment for you. Until I inform you otherwise, consider this your sole responsibility. Ta-Er Al Sahfer, is Zahara still in Starling?” _

_ “Yes, my liege.” _

_“Good. You are not to leave her side until Sarab arrives.”_ Ra’s then hung up the phone and turned to Sarab. _“I have reason to believe my daughter Zahara is still being targeted by Hydra. I will not allow any more harm to befall her. Since she will not concede to return to Nanda Parbat, it will be your duty to protect her. By whatever means necessary. Do you understand?”_

_ “Of course, my liege. Is there anything else I must know?” _

_“Five of our number will accompany you on this mission, I leave the selection at your discretion but will reassign any I feel to be unsuitable. Make your selections, you leave in the morning.”_  

* * *

 

**Stark Tower**

Natasha, Clint, Steve, Tony, Maria and Bucky were sitting in a conference room in Stark Tower. They were discussing security options and how to prevent another attack from happening. Luckily, the damage to the building itself was minimal, but this was the fourth time someone had accessed the tower uninvited and, for everyone involved, that was four times too many.

“We can’t keep doing the same thing and expecting different results.” Tony argued.

“We’re not. One attack doesn’t mean the building is compromised.” Steve said. “You figured out how they got in and fixed that hole in the code or whatever. You added extra security measures in case of a coordinated attack in the future. I don’t know what else we can do.”

“We’re skirting the issue here. We still don’t know what they wanted.” Hill said.

“Yes, we do. They wanted Felicity. We just don’t know why.” Natasha said.

“I might have an idea.” Coulson said walking in. “One of our new guests started talking.” The television in the conference room began to play. “Meet Kruno Modric, you might remember him as the man in the suit who tried to talk you into surrendering.”

“We know. What about him?” Bucky asked.

“He’s been in our custody for a week and a half. We’ve been trying to get him to talk for a week nad a half. He said absolutely nothing until today. Agent Morse took a gamble when she went to speak to him.” Coulson let the video play.

“Hello, Mr. Modric.” Bobbi said sitting down. She was met with silence. “I need to ask you a few questions.” Silence. “Now, I gotta admit, nothing you did last week made any sense. I mean, you attacked the Avengers, at their home base. You had to know that wasn’t a fight you were gonna win.”

Silence.

“Then, I looked at some of the security tapes. The Avengers were nice enough to let me see them. You wanna know what I noticed?” She pulled something out of her file folder. “You weren’t after them, you were after her.” She turned the paper over and it was a photo of Felicity.

“Felicity Smoak.” Modric said looking at the photo. “I remember the first time I saw her. I didn’t think much of her. Just a stubborn girl standing in our way. I thought she’d break in a few days.”

“You saw her in Siberia.” Morse said in realization.

“Yes, I was rather lucky not to be at the base when you showed up, wasn’t I?” He paused. “I didn’t realize, back then, that I wasn’t looking at an obstacle in our way. I was looking at a glorious future for Hydra. Not just the next step in the program, but its end goal. She is truly an extraordinary specimen.”

“When you say ‘the program’, you refer to the Winter Soldier program.”

“Yes. The Asset was impressively efficient, but he was only one man. Her, the fact that she survived, that changed everything.”

“Changed everything how?”

“She is….unique from our other attempts, successful or otherwise. She can give us what the Asset and our failed attempts couldn’t.”

“It seems this was the point in the conversation where Modric decided to go back to complete silence.” Coulson said as the video ended.

“What does that mean ‘she can give them what others couldn’t’?” Steve asked.

“No idea. Hacking skills maybe?”

“No, they came after her because of me, they didn’t know she was a hacker.”

“Computer hacking is also a skill, and those can be taught.” Hill interjected. “They’ve been exposed, they knew this was a gamble. Whatever they want her for, it has to be something they can’t teach. Or something that isn’t a skill.”

“So the question is, what does Felicity have that Bucky doesn’t?” Steve asked.

“Do you really want us to sit here and examine every way Barnes and Felicity are different? Because that’s gonna take a while.” Clint said.

“She’s a hell of a lot smarter than me.” Bucky said. “She has connections to the League.” He pulled out his phone.

“She’s also got friend. More than one facial expression. Both arms, so no one will stare at her.” Tony said trying to lighten the mood. "She's better looking-"

“Buck, why are you growling into your phone?” Steve asked.

“She’s not answering her phone.” Bucky said before standing up. “I’m stealing a jet.”

“Don’t you think that’s a little drastic?”

_I warned her I would do something drastic._ “Felicity always answers her phone. The last time she didn’t was when they took her in Central City. Something’s wrong.”

“I’m afraid the sergeant is correct.” JARVIS cut in to say. “Ms. Smoak and her mother were abducted earlier this evening by a cyber-terrorist group known as Brother Eye. They claimed to need her technical abilities. Their leader Cooper Seldon destroyed her phone; in accordance with my protocols, I informed her team, ARGUS and the Starling City Police of what had occurred. Both Smoak women appear to be shaken, but otherwise unharmed.”

“I’m still taking the jet.” Bucky said as he walked out of the room.

With that and no obvious next step, everyone dispersed but one question still plagued them. What could Felicity do that Bucky couldn’t?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know what Hydra's reason for wanting Felicity is, but what's your guess?


	46. Chapter 46

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reunions happen, Bucky meets Donna and Sara points out some obvious things.

“Is that him?” Donna Smoak had been asking Felicity that every time a man walked into their line of sight.

“No.” The hacker kept scanning the crowd.

“Ok. Is that him?” Donna asked pointing to another man.

“Mom, no. When I see him, I’ll let you know.” Felicity said half amused and half annoyed.

“Don’t look at me like that. This is the first boyfriend you’ve let me meet in a long time! Let me have this.”

“I’m not trying to take away from your excitement, it’s just….”

“Just what?”

“You can go a little overboard sometimes.” Felicity explained.

“Woah.” Donna said looking at her critically. “You really like him, don’t you?”

“I love him, a lot.” She admitted. Felicity went back to looking at the around the arrival gate. All of a sudden, a familiar, worn baseball cap caught her eye. She raised her arm and waved. “I see him. Please don’t make it weird.”

“I’m your mother, that’s my job.” Donna still pasted a smile on her face while they waited for Bucky to make his way over to them.

As soon as Bucky was close enough to Felicity, he pulled her into a hug. “I’m glad you’re okay. You are okay right? I knew you shouldn’t have gone alone, my gut kept trying to tell me-“

“James-“ Felicity cut in. “I’m fine. There’s someone I want you to meet.” She turned him slightly so he could see Donna. “Mom, this James Barnes. James, meet my mom.”

He pulled away from Felicity and stuck his hand out. “It’s nice to meet you ma’am.”

“Honey, it’s Donna. Now, come here.” She said before pulling him in for a hug. She pulled away and turned to Felicity. “Why didn’t you tell me he was this attractive?”

“It must’ve slipped my mind.”

Donna turned her attention to Bucky. “Now, why hasn’t my daughter told me about you earlier? What do you do? Are you Jewish? What are your intentions with Felicity?”

“Mom, you said you wouldn’t do this.” Felicity said, getting embarrassed.

“Clearly I was lying. Answer the questions.”

“I can’t answer the first question since I’m not Felicity. I work in private security. I’m not that religious, but I know Felicity’s Jewish heritage is important to her and I respect that. I want to be with your daughter for as long as she’ll have me.” Bucky answered honestly.

“You passed.” Donna told him before turning to Felicity. “You can keep him. Mostly because your babies will be beautiful.”

“Let’s get back to the house.” She began ushering both of them towards the car. Bucky was chuckling as Felicity mouthed ‘I’m sorry’ to him.

“Actually, my stuff’s in the car anyway. I’m gonna see if I can get an earlier flight.” Donna said, before whispering to Felicity, “You two go have your reunion sex.”

“Mom!” Donna smirked but grabbed her bags and walked off.

“I think we should take your mom’s advice.” Bucky joked as he got into the car. Felicity gave him an unimpressed look. “Or not. Have I told you how much I missed you?”

“No, you haven’t.”

“Well, I did. A lot. And I told you so. I told you not to go to Starling City alone because something would happen, and guess what? Something happened.”

“Yes, yes, I know. You were right.” The blonde conceded. “Can we just get back to the house before you start lecturing me?” 

* * *

 

The ride back to Felicity’s was quiet, but a comfortable type of quiet, not an awkward silence. They arrived back at the house only to find a frantic Sara in the living room.

“Thank god you’re here.  where were you? Ra’s would’ve definitely killed me if I hadn’t -Oh, hey Barnes.” Sara said. “Anyway, where were you?”

“Airport to pick him up. Why do you sound like my mother right now?”

“Ra’s called, he’s pissed-.”

“He doesn’t get ‘pissed’, he only has two emotions: neutral and killing neutral.”

“Well, make that three emotions, because that brief phone call I got was the scariest 30 seconds of my life.”

“What does Ra’s have to do with you knowing where Felicity is?” Bucky cut in to ask.

“I don’t know exactly. He ordered me to quote ‘not leave her side until Sarab gets here’. Whatever angered him must be serious.”

“Sarab is coming? Shit.”

“Why is that bad? Sarab helped us find you in Siberia.” Bucky asked still confused.

“He’s one of my father’s most trusted soldiers. He wouldn’t send him here for a normal threat. Whatever he’s trying to prevent or protect me from must be incredibly dangerous. One of the Hydra prisoners must’ve talked.” Felicity surmised.

“Speaking of, SHIELD got the head Hydra idiot from New York to talk. He sorta confessed why they were after you and not me.” Bucky said.

“What do you mean, he sorta confessed? He either confessed or he didn’t.”

“What he meant wasn’t exactly clear. He worked at the base in Siberia but was away when we found you. He said your survival changed everything, because you could give Hydra what I, and their other attempts, couldn’t.” Bucky explained. “I stormed out to find you before we could figure out what he meant.”

Felicity’s mind started racing. Knowledge could be a reason; she knew a lot of things she shouldn’t and a lot of things Hydra didn’t. if they took her and managed to brainwash her, it would give them quite the edge. The League was another, and their reasoning would be quite self-explanatory. Then, there was the matter of the Lazarus Pits. Felicity had been healed by the waters a few weeks before being taken to Siberia. According to Ra’s the effects lingered for anywhere between a few weeks to a few months. If the waters were still affecting her, and the serum amplified those effects, Hydra might’ve noticed somehow, in her blood work or their battery of tests, and gotten curious.

“I take it you ruled out the obvious answer.” Sara stated.

“What ‘obvious’ answer?” Bucky asked.

“You’re a man and she’s a woman. There’s a lot you can do; giving birth isn’t one of them.” Sara said. “And if she did get pregnant, there’s a chance they’d inherit the effects of the serum. They wouldn’t need you if they had her. They could breed their own army of baby Winter Soldiers they could train from birth.”

“I think I’m gonna vomit.” Felicity said. “That is sick even for them.”

She walked into her bedroom and closed the door. Bucky stared after her for a minute before following her into the room. He held her all night as she cried, whispering reassurances to her intermittently. He reassured her that wouldn’t let anything happen to her. Neither would Sara. Or Team Arrow. Or Barry. Or the League or the Avengers. The blonde eventually cried herself to sleep. 

* * *

 

Early the next morning, around 7 AM, there was a knock at the door and Bucky went to answer it. Sarab and five other League members were standing on the other side.

“’Why are all of you here?”

“It is the will of Ra’s al Ghul.” One of them answered.

“I understand that, but why did he send six of you?” the question was mostly directed at Sarab.

“To protect Lady Zahara.” Sarab turned and ordered the other five assassins away. They disappeared almost immediately but Bucky doubted they weren’t still in earshot. “The Demon Head has….concerns that Hydra is still targeting her. One of the prisoners from Siberia was rather loquacious about Hydra’s plans for her. He dispatched the six of us in response.”

“What exactly did he tell Ra’s?”

“He did not say. I imagine if you were to contact the Demon Head and ask, he may tell you.” Sarab responded.

Bucky fought the urge to roll his eyes. Of course Ra’s wouldn’t tell anyone why he made the decision that he did; he was used to blind obedience from everyone. “Fine. Get your buddies back here.” Forty-five seconds later, all six assassins were standing on the stoop once again. “I know your job is to protect my wife. However, she’s been through a lot recently, so if any of you upset her, if you even put her in a bad mood, I will snap your neck like a twig. Understand?”

To his credit, Sarab was the only one who didn’t look terrified of Bucky after that. Barnes stepped out of the doorway so they could enter. He retreated to his bedroom to explain what was going on to Felicity. She wasn’t happy to say the least and immediately got out of bed to speak to the new arrivals. She tried to send them away, they refused to go because it violated their orders from Ra’s. She expected that; the only person whose orders superseded a child of the Demon was the Demon Head himself.

She then changed tactics and retreated to her room to call Ra’s. The phone call was brief. He admitted one of their prisoners had started to confess. The man vehemently informed him that Hydra would not stop coming after Felicity, although the man did not say why. Felicity shared Sara’s theory of what their reasoning could be. Ra’s didn’t admit anything, but based on his reaction, he didn’t seem surprised.


	47. Chapter 47

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity and Bucky have a pretty good day, the Smoak-Barnes family gets a little bigger and serious talks about serious topics are avoided.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I'm on tumblr now at laxit21. If you wanna, you know, check that out. Right now it's just links to stuff on here but...

After Felicity spoke to Ra’s, she went back to sleep. The last week or so had been physically and emotionally exhausting. She woke up about two hours later to the sound of water shutting off. She turned her head slightly to see Bucky standing in the bathroom with the door open. He was dressed, but his hair was still damp from his shower. It looked like he was about to shave.

“Don’t.” She said.

He turned to face her. “What?”

“Don’t you dare get rid of that scruff." She said propping herself up on one elbow. “I like it too much.”

“Oh really?” He sauntered over to her. He sat on the edge of the bed and leaned over her.

“Yeah. I don’t know, there’s just something about it that I like. It looks good on you.” She ran one hand over his stubble. “’You can trim it, but you should keep it. You know, if you were wondering what my opinion was.”

“I always want to know what your opinion is.” Bucky responded. “But I can think of something more fun than you watching me shave.”

“I bet you can.” Felicity shot back as she pulled him down to her. 

* * *

 

Around two hours later, Felicity and Bucky were walking around Starling Park which was unsurprisingly busy for a summer Saturday afternoon. There was a farmers market going on, and some other Starling City businesses and organizations had set up tables nearby.

 Three members of the League had come with them, but they’d disappeared into the crowd upon arrival to avoid seeming conspicuous. Luckily, Felicity didn’t have to explain to them why wearing the League garb was a bad idea.

As they walked, Bucky telling Felicity about the week they were apart. Tony had finally convinced someone, Fitz, to blow things up with him in his lab. The explosives were explosive enough, then Thor showed up. He decided to prove Mjolnir created the biggest boom. Long story short, Pepper wasn’t happy and three floors of the Tower needed to be rebuilt.

He was halfway through telling the story when Felicity gasped and ran off. He chased after her, slightly panicked. For the first time since arriving, he noticed Sarab who was following her as well. Bucky finally spotted Felicity and let out a sigh of relief that she seemed okay.

Felicity was sitting in the middle of a large, open patch of grass. Around her, a bunch of animals were running wild. A corgi and a chihuahua were chasing one another in a circle. A black lab was running up to every passer-by and trying to get them to play fetch. A German Sheppard was laying on the grass, basking in the sun. Two Huskies were fighting over a stick.

“You’re such a cute little nugget!” the blonde exclaimed to the ball of fluff she was holding. She was sitting on the grass holding some kind of animal in her lap. She held it up so Bucky could see. “Look! Isn’t he adorable?”

In her arms was a very small, and indeed very cute, yellow lab puppy. He wiggled out of her hands and returned to his spot in her lap. As soon as he settled, he stood up and started licking Felicity’s face. The blonde began to giggle, which soon turned into a full-blown laugh. Bucky stood rooted to the spot for several moments. This was the first time Felicity had laughed, truly laughed, since before Siberia. The soldier wanted nothing more than to hear that sound again.

Clearing his throat, Bucky spoke. “He certainly is cute.” He bent down to pet the puppy.

“Not cute, adorable.” Felicity argued. “The most adorable. It’s science.”

“Of course.” Bucky agreed and stood back up. He then looked at the table next to Felicity. A big banner was hanging on the front reading, ‘Starling City Animal Shelter Adopt-A-Pet Day! Help All Our Furry Friends Find New Homes!’

“Are all your animals up for adoption?” Bucky asked the volunteer at the table.

“All except Bella here.” she pointed to a Beagle sitting next to her. “Her humans wouldn’t take to well to that.”

Bucky nodded a thank you and turned back to Felicity. The lab was still cuddling with her. He knelt down and ran a few fingers through his fur. “Felicity?”

“Yeah?” she answered distractedly.

“Do you want to adopt him?”

She looked excited for a few moments, but then her expression became unsure. “I mean, we haven’t really ever talked about adopting pets and-.”

“Felicity, do you want to adopt him?”

“I- yes.” She said.

After filling out the paperwork and going on a quick trip to the pet store, the newest member of the Smoak-Barnes family was heading to his new home. Felicity named the puppy Nugget, since he was, after all, the ‘cutest little nugget’ and she could ‘just eat him up’. 

* * *

 

“Are we ever gonna talk about it?” Bucky asked later that evening when they were sitting in the living room. There was a League member in the kitchen, but the other five were out of sight. Neither Bucky nor Felicity imagined they’d gone far though.

“Talk about what?” Felicity asked, knowing what he was referring to but refusing to acknowledge it. Nugget was curled up between Felicity and Bucky.

“What Sara said, the League being here, Ra’s lack of surprise when you talked to him, your decision about New York versus Starling. Are we ever gonna talk about any of that?”

“Yeah, it’s just….I wanted a day, one day, where I could pretend none of this crap is happening or did happen to me or might happen to me. I wanted one day, and that day was today.” Felicity answered. “And technically, the League was always here.”

Bucky was about to retort when there was a knock on the doorframe of the living room.

“What is it, Sarab?” Felicity asked without turning around.

“How’d you know it was him?”

“I heard light footsteps so it had to be a League member. Sara wouldn’t have knocked, and the other League members seemed scared to talk to me. That leaves Sarab.” Felicity rationalized. She then turned to face the assassin in question. “What is it?”

“Forgive the intrusion, but I must speak with you regarding your training.”

“My training.” Felicity said slowly.

“Yes, the Demon Head feels that, given the situation, it would be beneficial for you to receive additional instruction in both defensive and offensive methods of fighting. Purely as a precaution. I assumed you were informed.”

“No, I….he didn’t say anything to me.” Felicity responded to Sarab before continuing. “I will think about it and let you know if and when I am ready to begin.”

The assassin nodded and left the room.

“Is that really a good idea?” Bucky asked. “It’s just…The last time you fought someone, it was Hydra. The person before that was a supersoldier. The time before that was Hydra again. More training might cause more problems than it fixes.”

“I guess we’ll find out. Ra’s doesn’t take refusal very well.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All dogs mentioned in this chapter are good dogs and based off of good dogs I know.


	48. Chapter 48

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Training happens, SHIELD gets frustrated and a decision is made.

**Starling**

Roughly two days after the League’s arrival, Felicity couldn’t stall Sarab anymore. Unsurprisingly, Ra’s had already learned that Felicity’s training hadn’t commenced and called her personally to insist she do so. It was the weirdest conversation Bucky had ever overheard. Ra’s tactics varied from pulling the ‘Demon Head’ card, as Felicity called it, to attempting to guilt trip Felicity to launching into an anecdote from decades ago about preparedness. Finally, mostly to shut him up, Felicity conceded to begin training with Sarab once again.

That’s how Felicity, Bucky, Nugget, Sarab, and the other League members found themselves in an abandoned warehouse just inside the city limits early one morning.

“Is there a reason why we need to do this here?” Felicity whined.

“Your home is insufficient for combat training, as is the Arrow’s base. I assumed you wished to keep this endeavor from the Arrow and his team’s knowledge.” Sarab answered as he removed his weapons from his person. As was customary, they would begin with unarmed sparring. “Now, prepare yourself.”

Felicity sighed, stretched and turned to Bucky. “Keep an eye on Nugget. Unless Sarab tries to kill me or vice versa, don’t interfere.” The League’s ruthlessness during training was why they had the reputation they had. It was jarring though, seeing it for the first time. She and Bucky had never discussed the details of how they were trained. Both methods were effective enough to make Felicity and Bucky dangerous, and that was all that mattered until now.

“What do you-“

“Whatever happens, no matter how much you want to, don’t get in the middle unless one of us tried to kill the other.” She turned back to Sarab and shifted into a fighting stance. “Ready.”

* * *

 

**New York**

“Any news from the deadly lovebirds?” Tony asked Steve who was sitting on roof of Stark Tower drawing the skyline.

“He made it, she’s okay. He told her what we saw on the tape. Sara came up with an explanation none of us thought of. Buck wouldn’t tell me what her explanation was, but it freaked him out.” Steve explained. “That’s all I know. Haven’t heard anything from her since she left, not sure when she’ll be back.”

“Well, here’s hoping its sometime soon. Getting real sick of Coulson skulking around my tower waiting for her to get back to him with information.”

“He’s been doing that?”

“Yeah, ever since we found out about her situation and she said she’d talk to her dad.”

“I honestly thought Phil was smarter than that.” Steve said sounding amused and Tony looked like he was missing something. “It took Ra’s less time to get the League mobilized and send them to Siberia than it took us to fly there in our top-secret, superfast jet. Finding out information takes less time than that. She was making him wait on purpose.”

“Why would Smoakie do that?”

“Well we, and by that, I mean the Avengers and SHIELD, confronted a woman with PTSD about the trauma that caused it. Which she saw as an ambush and that made her feel threatened. I apologized, you and the rest of the team left her alone for a while, but Phil turned around and asked her for a favor less than a minute later.” Steve explained. “She probably already knew what he wanted to know and decided to hold off for a few days as payback. Then Hydra attacked here, and she had bigger things to deal with.”

“I still think someone should ask when she’s coming back. If she’s coming back.” Tony argued.

“No need, I talked to her yesterday.” Natasha said, popping up out of nowhere. “She left because she needed to figure out what to do. She wasn’t sure if she was moving back to Starling or staying here. After the Brother Eye situation, she made a decision.”

“And her decision was?” Steve asked.

* * *

 

**The Playground**

Skye, Coulson, May, Fitz, Simmons, Tripp, Koenig, Bobbi and Mack sat in Coulson’s office sorting through files. The first seven agents knew this meeting wouldn’t be very productive. Bobbi and Mack weren’t expecting to hit so many dead ends. Saying there were a lot of loose ends where Hydra was involved was an understatement. The inclusion of other agencies and organizations only made tying up the loose ends worse. The other alphabet agencies weren’t as willing to share information with one another as SHIELD and ARGUS were.

“We haven’t even made a dent.” Mack said as he closed another file and added it to the ‘Fate Unknown’ stack.

“Any idea when she’s is coming back?” Skye asked. not looking up from the file she was reading. “It would help a lot.”

“She who?” Bobbi asked.

“Felicity Smoak.”

“How would her coming back help us?”

“She has…. connections.” May answered. “She could probably cut the unknown pile in half, at least, with a phone call.”

“How? She was a normal IT girl before Hydra took her.” Mack said. “And we don’t even know why they took her.”

“Only she and Barnes know exactly why. And she was never normal.” Coulson said, finally speaking. “She was the hacker who kept getting into our system and giving us intel. She’s half the reason we were able to rebuild so fast. Her program is how we got all of these names.”

“That doesn’t explain how she’d be able to ‘cut the pile in half’ with a phone call.” Bobbi asked again.

“Because she’s always known more than she tells anyone.” May explained. “Even if she doesn’t know who’s dead and who’s not, she has the leverage to find out.”

* * *

 

**Starling**

Sarab hit the floor, wheezing. The five other assassins were laid out on the floor, either out of breath or unconscious. Bucky was in the corner playing with Nugget, which seemed to keep him calm.

“Would you like to stop?” Felicity asked concerned she was going to do some serious damage.

“No, this is an important lesson you must learn.” Sarab said as he struggled to get to his feet. “I just need a moment.”

“You sure?”

“I am certain. You have become stronger since we last sparred.”

“Well, that was years ago. Back before I could go toe-to-toe with either of my sisters.” Felicity said, trying not to make him feel bad. “There’s also my new strength to consider.”

“Which is precisely why you must learn to control it.” Sarab said, no longer out of breath. “Your lack of control may have served you well thus far, but it is foolish to allow that to continue. Not every enemy you face will be Hydra, and not every fight you partake in will be to the death. I am surprised you have yet to break something by simply gripping it too tight.”

“I’ve broken a lot of coffee mugs, actually.” Felicity admitted.

“Then you see what my point is.” Sarab said. “Let us begin again. This time use roughly three-fourths of the force you just did in your hits.” The blonde nodded uncertainly before striking out with a Hammer Fist punch aimed at his chest. He blocked the strike effectively and grabbed her arm, which would have prevented a normal person from moving the limb further. “If you couldn’t use your strength to break the hold, how would you proceed?”

The lesson moved slower than usually after that. Sarab was focusing on Felicity getting the technique perfected and becoming accustomed to varying how much strength she used, rather than focusing on who ‘won’ the fight. Several hours later, everyone left the warehouse sore and exhausted, except Bucky who was just exhausted.

 

“Well, that was…. something.” Bucky said when they got home.

Felicity sat down on their bed and he sat next to her. “It was weird, wasn’t it? For you to see that. It was way different from when I fought Steve.”

“Yeah. It’s one thing to know you’ve got training, but seeing it is something else entirely.” Bucky answered. “Is it…. was it always like that? I mean, before everything when Talia and Nyssa were just starting to teach you. Were they that intense?”

“It’s always been like that. Ra’s doesn’t believe in training wheels.” Felicity said, untying her shoes and not looking up. “It creates weak warriors, he claims.”

“Is that where-“

“I’d rather not talk about it.” Felicity cut in. The League was brutal when it came to training. Felicity didn’t like it, she never had, but she’d never been given a choice.

He studied her for a moment before dropping the issue. “Ok.”

“I made a decision.” Felicity said after it was quiet for a few minutes. “About whether to stay in New York or Starling.” She picked up Nugget, who had been exploring the room, and began petting him. “I’m pretty sure almost no one’s gonna like it.”

“No matter what you decided, I’m with you.” He reassured her.

“I don’t wanna stay here, but I don’t wanna go back to the Tower either.” Felicity admitted.

“What...what does that mean exactly?” Bucky pressed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think that means?


	49. Chapter 49

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Decisions are made, goodbyes are said, and new starts begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is kinda a blah chapter, but it needed to be written.

**Starling**

“I don’t wanna stay here, but I don’t wanna go back to the Tower either.” Felicity admitted.

“What…what does that mean exactly?” Bucky pressed.

“It’s not so much where I’m going, its what I want to do. Starling will always be a special place for me, and if the team needs me, I’ll run right over, but I just…. I feel like I don’t belong here anymore. I don’t think I can be on the team day-to-day anymore, not when I’ve got so much I’m still dealing with. I want to go to New York, but I don’t want to live in Stark Tower anymore. It’s…. I want to start over. You and me on our own. We’ll visit the Avengers as much as we want, but then the situation with me, and the League, and SHIELD, and everyone else doesn’t get more complicated.” Felicity explained. “I mean, I kinda jumped from one group to another. I went straight from losing you to the League to Team Arrow to a Hydra base to the Avengers. I never stopped to figure out what I want. Now’s my chance. If we go there but move out of the Tower, I can decide how involved I wanna be for myself, without proximity making me feel like I have to get involved. And so can you.”

“Why do you think no one’s gonna like it?”

“Well, Oliver, John and the rest aren’t gonna want me to leave. They’ll accept it, but they won’t be happy about it. And in New York, as soon as we leave, they’ll try to convince us to move back. The only people I won’t be making mad is the League, although Ra’s wants me to just move to Nanda Parbat already.”

“We need to do what seems best for us. Time away from both teams might do us some good, and its not forever. We live in the age of cell phones and Skype, so its not like you’ll never talk to any of them again.” Bucky said. “Are you sure this is what you want?” Felicity nodded. They then started discussing logistics.

They needed to pack everything, move across the country and find a place to live. Selling Felicity’s house could take a while. So could breaking down and setting up all of her security measures. They also needed to figure out how to tell everyone what was going on.

It turned out some of their problems were easier to solve than others. Somehow, probably Talia’s doing, Bruce Wayne heard Felicity was looking for a place in Manhattan. Within a few days of telling her, Felicity was getting daily emails from Wayne’s realtor regarding new listings in the area. As soon as Felicity told Barry she was moving, he volunteered to run right over and help the couple pack. Selling her house wouldn’t take long according to her realtor in Starling. Apparently her neighborhood was some up-and-coming area for young couples just starting out.

Soon, the only thing Felicity hadn’t started on yet was telling everyone. She did so in stages. Her mom was first, and she was excited for Felicity. She told Sara, and the League next. There wasn’t a point in trying to deceive them and Sarab would’ve told Ra’s at some point anyway. Then, she told Laurel, Detective Lance and her few other civilian friends in Starling. Next was Team Flash. It was more of a ‘hey, just wanted you to know I’m moving’ than anything else. Things in Central City with the Reverse Flash had gotten more serious. Her team was the last to know, because she knew it would be the hardest.

As expected, Oliver, John and Roy didn’t want to see her go, but they knew they couldn’t make her stay. She had to swear, on her electronic babies, that she’d call at least once a week. Thea was equally sad and excited. Sad Felicity was moving so far away, but excited because one, Felicity was getting a new start and two, she could just make up an excuse to visit Felicity anytime.

Original Team Arrow spent one last night in the foundry the day before she left. They decided to forego patrol for one night in order to throw Felicity a going away party. Saying goodbye the next morning was a bittersweet experience.

* * *

 

**New York**

When Felicity and Bucky returned to New York, they temporarily moved into the Tower. They hadn’t found a new place to live and the tower made more sense than a hotel. Most of their stuff was sitting in an unused League safehouse and while her assassin bodyguards weren’t living in the tower, they were nearby keeping an eye on things.

Bucky and Felicity held off on telling any of the tower’s inhabitants, except two, of their plan. They wanted to have everything planned and set up before they brought up moving.  Felicity mentioned something to Pietro and Wanda. She didn’t like the idea of blindsiding them with the news. She also knew they’d understand.

“May I ask you something?” Sarab asked Felicity after they finished their daily training was completed. They were leaving the safehouse on the edge of Queens as he spoke. “Why do you not simply move into the Continental? I am sure the Demon Head would not say no.”

The Continental was an upscale building down the street from Stark Tower. It touted itself as one of the most private residences in New York with top security and amenities.

“What are you talking about?”

“The League purchased the penthouse of the Continental years ago, and the apartments on the floor below. It’s been sitting empty for two years or more.” Sarab said. “It is private, secluded, private security would not seem out of place there and it is close to where the Avengers are should you desire to visit. We could easily use some of the space there for training purposes as well. And they allow dogs.”

“I didn’t know the League bought luxury condos.” She remarked.

“Lady Talia needs to keep up appearances when posing as Miranda Tate.” He answered. “Your father may decline, but it would be best to ask, would it not?”

Felicity contacted Ra's about an hour later. He agreed to Sarab’s suggestion almost immediately, and chided Felicity for not asking about the building or a similar one sooner. Within two days, the ownership paperwork in her name was dropped off at the Tower.

“Great,” Felicity said as she read the papers over. “Now we have to tell them we’re leaving.”

“You’re leaving?” Steve asked from behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, we will see Team Arrow and Team Flash again.  
> How will the Avengers react?


	50. Chapter 50

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers find out about the move, the move happens and Felicity realizes something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: the apartment described in this chapter is based off of some real apartment/condo listings in New York. They all cost like 3+ million dollars.

“You’re leaving?” Steve asked from behind her. He looked in between Bucky and Felicity with a hurt look on his face. “You can’t leave.”

“Calm down for a second. We’re staying in New York. We’re just…. moving out of the Tower.” Felicity admitted. 

“Why? What’s wrong with staying here?”

“I…it feels like the right thing to do. For both of us. We’re still gonna be around if you need but-”

“You’ll visit though, right?”

“Of course. It’s just-“

“We both need some distance from all of this.” Bucky said. “We’ve been jumping from one stressful situation to another for years. Some time away from fighting and near death experiences is kinda what we need right now.”

“Ok.” Captain America replied, slightly disappointed.

“You ever need our help, you’ve still got my number.” Felicity said trying to lighten the mood.

“Yeah.”

Telling the others was easier. Natasha, Clint and Bruce all understood and wished them luck.  Pepper and Maria seemed indifferent as soon as they promised to visit occasionally. The twins already knew and were debating staying or moving out too. Tony didn’t react well.

“You’re not allowed to leave.” Tony insisted.

“Oh, we’re not?” Felicity asked, getting annoyed that everyone kept telling her what to do. “And why’s that?”

“One, I haven’t gotten to play with the Buck-meister’s arm yet-”

“And you’re never going to.” Bucky interrupted.

Tony ignored his interjection and continued. “Two, you’ll be breaking up Science Club.”

“Science Club?”

“Yes, Science Club, you, me, Brucie and Jane when she’s here. in the lab, doing Science. If you leave, you’ll be breaking up the band.”

“We’re moving like three miles away, not to Bali. I can still come and do Science with you.” Felicity justified, and tried to ignore how childish Tony was being.

“I’ll give you a car if you stay.”

“No.”

“A plane?”

“No, Tony.”

“My company.”

“Actually, its Pepper’s and still no.”

“Fine.” Tony conceded. “Mark my words, one day Smoakie, I’ll figure out what I need to bribe you.”

The couple moved out of the Tower two days later. Wanda and Pietro decided to stay, although Felicity made sure they knew they could visit at any time. Between Bucky and Felicity’s enhanced strength and help from the League members assigned to them, it took them less than three hours to get everything out of storage and into the huge penthouse.

The apartment itself came straight out of a brochure. Over 7000 square feet, two floors. It had five bedrooms and ten bathrooms. Wooden floors, marble countertops, chrome fixtures. Patios on both floors with a view of Central Park. Floor to ceiling windows along one side of the building. A huge kitchen, and dining room and living room.

“I don’t think this place is big enough.” Felicity deadpanned as they explored the apartment. "We definitely need, like, three more bathrooms. Ten isn’t enough.”

“At least we’ll never need our guests to stay in a hotel.” Bucky said. “We could fit your entire extended family in here.”

“I feel like I shouldn’t even be in here. I’m not fancy enough.” Felicity remarked. “How am I supposed to feel normal eating Big Belly Burger in a kitchen like this?”

“I imagine you’d go to Big Belly, buy food, bring it back here and eat it.” Bucky deadpanned before turning serious. “I know this place is way bigger than we need, and it feels really foreign, but that’s just because its new. It’ll feel like home in no time.”

Felicity leaned up and gave him a peck on the cheek.  “Wanna help me finished unpacking these boxes so we can move onto the best part of moving?”

“What’s the best part of moving?” he asked.

“Well, after you move somewhere new, especially with your partner, you have to christen the place.” She said suggestively.

“Why are all these boxes just sitting here then?”

 

After they were done unpacking and christening the apartment, Felicity and Bucky fell asleep in their new bedroom. They awoke about two hours later when a buzzing noise kept happening a few feet away from them.

“What is that?” Bucky asked, his voice a little groggy from sleep.

“I think….is that my phone?” Felicity said sitting up. As soon as she sat up, she started missing Bucky’s warmth. “Ugh. Nope. Too warm here. Let’s hope its not important.” She laid back down. The noise stopped for a few moments, and she sighed in relief. Then, it started buzzing again.

“it’s been doing that for like ten minutes.” Bucky said.

“Fine.” She huffed as she reluctantly pulled herself away from him. She walked over to the spot on the floor where their clothes ended up and picked up the device. She had a few texts, but nothing urgent. She had several missed calls and voicemails however. She was about to check her voicemail when the phone rang again.

“Hello?” she said answering the call.

“We need to talk.”

“Right now? Are you serious?”

“This is an important-“

“I don’t care. I’ve had a rough few weeks, I was finally getting some sleep and you woke me up. Stop bugging me with this crap. Don’t call me again.” Felicity said before hanging up.

“Who was that?” Bucky asked her.

“Someone I want to punch in the face.”

“You can’t do that, that’s my thing. Your thing is ruining people’s lives electronically and making their devices emit animal farts when they piss you off.”

“That is true. I should probably call Ra's though. He only called once, but that's excessive for him.”

"It is? Thank him for the apartment." Bucky said.

"I will, after I'm done listening to his usual spiel." She began getting dressed, pulling on a pair of yoga pants and an old MIT t-shirt. 

"What usual spiel?"

Felicity lowered her voice to make it sound more manly. "Why don't you live in Nanda Parbat, Zahara? It will be safe for you and your beloved here. You can hone your abilities away from the prying eyes of SHIELD and ARGUS. Your children will be safe here."

"Children? Is there something you're not telling me?" 

"Nope. Ra's just really wants grandchildren, even though he already has one. Besides, I'm not pregnant. I'm on birth control and my last period was- Shit." Felicity said before running into the other room.

_When was my last period? I didn't have one in Siberia, thank god. It didn't come after I got back. Then again, saying I've been stressed lately is an understatement. It should be fine though, right? I've been taking the pill this whole time and I-  I'm a super soldier. My body processes things faster than before. The pill wasn't designed with my metabolism in mind._

_Crap._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I suck.  
> PS. Yes, the 'Ra's already has an assassin grandkid' is a reference to Damian.


	51. Chapter 51

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> May drops some truth bombs, Team Flash has a crisis and Felicity and Bucky find out if they're pregnant.

“Oh frack. Oh frack, oh frack.” Felicity said as she paced the spacious kitchen of the apartment. “I might actually- we might- I could- I might be pregnant.”

“I thought you said you were on birth control. Wouldn’t that, you know, make getting pregnant almost impossible?” Bucky asked. He knew about a lot of things; pregnancy prevention and birth control was not one of them.

“Yeah, I’m on the pill. Except it’s the same prescription I’ve been on since February.” She explained.

“And?”

“It’s a medication like any other; it only works if it’s absorbed by the body the right way and in the right time frame. It’s functionality is based on building up certain hormones to a certain level. They prevent ovulation, which means there’s no egg to fertilize. The pill wasn’t designed with super soldiers in mind. With my new metabolism, its possible my body processes them too fast. If that’s true, those hormone levels aren’t high enough to stop an egg from being released.” She began pacing faster and her heart started pounding.

“Okay. Felicity, honey, I need you to calm down.”

“Calm down? I can’t calm down. I mean, I could be pregnant and we never talked about this and like five people think Hydra’s gonna try and take our baby and I have no idea what I’m supposed to do. Do you even want kids? Do I want kids?”

“Stop for a second, ok? Ignore all that and just answer something for me. If our lives were normal and you thought you might be pregnant, what’s the first thing you’d do?”

“Take a home pregnancy test, several actually. If they’re positive, get it verified by a doctor.” Felicity answered. “Though, even if it’s negative, I still want to talk to Caitlin.”

“Okay. How about I go to the store and you call her? If she can come here in a few days, great. If not, we can head over there.”

“Uh huh.” Felicity said, still trying to wrap her head around everything.

“And Felicity? Everything’s gonna be okay.” Bucky didn’t want to say anything, because Felicity was freaking out, but he wanted kids, especially since meeting Felicity.

As Bucky was leaving the apartment, he ran into Sarab. The assassin looked like he was arriving for his and Felicity’s daily sparring exercises.  The Winter Soldier considered not saying anything, but decided to give the other man a warning.

“You might not want to do training today.”

“Why not?”

“Felicity’s not in the right mindset right now. Trust me.”

“Why not? Did something happen? Is she all right?” the assassin asked Bucky. “Is today one of her ‘dark days’ as she calls it? Or should I contact the Demon Head?”

“No, its none of that. She’s just….freaking out about something. She’s physically fine, but emotionally all over the place. Until she gets an answer or the situation resolves itself, she’s not gonna be able to focus on anything else.”

“Are you certain?”

“I know my wife.” Bucky said slightly agitated. “I’ll be back in like half an hour.” 

* * *

 

**The Playground**

“Did you hear back from Felicity?” Morse asked Coulson. He’d been calling the blonde regularly for the last few days. She hadn’t answered him, but she’d been keeping in touch with Skye, Steve and a few others.

“She answered the phone, and told me to shove it.” Coulson responded.

“Has it ever occurred to you that you’re doing this the wrong way?” May asked.

“What do you mean?”

“The girl’s been through a lot in the last four months. She’s got a lot of things on her plate. The last thing she needs is you pestering her about Hydra agents.”

“She said she’d help us.”

“She said she’d try, actually. She never promised anything. And we can investigate Hydra without her. We know her contacts aren’t in the US, we can at least track the American agents down.” May said.

“So what? We just shelve at rest of the world until she deigns to get back to us?”

“No, we give her some space while she figures stuff out, and gets whatever answers she can.” May said. “From what I know, they aren’t big on technology, it could take weeks for them to get her the information she needs.” 

* * *

 

**Central City**

Barry, Cisco and Caitlin all looked at one another in confusion.

“Did that- did we really just see that?” Cisco asked. “He just ‘pfft’ and disappeared right? I’m not hallucinating.”

Barry and Caitlin both nodded. The only reason they weren’t convinced they were having some shared hallucination was the fact the cameras caught the entire thing happening.

The trio was pulled out of their stupor when Barry’s phone rang.

“Hey Felicity.” He said answering it. “I was actually about to-“

“Is Caitlin with you? She’s not answering her phone and I really need to talk to her. Right now. I don’t wanna be rude, but this is kinda- I just really need to talk to Caitlin, right now.”

“Hold on a sec.” the speedster turned to Caitlin. “It’s for you.”

“Hello?....You do?.....Um, I guess I could be there tomorrow afternoon…” Caitlin said to a frantic Felicity. “Listen, something happened, could we visit you for a few days….no everyone’s ok, it’s just, something impossible happened and your friends in New York might know something we don’t….Ok. Wanna talk to Barry?”

Barry took the phone back. “Uh huh….uh huh….no I won’t. Ok. I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon.” 

* * *

 

**New York**

When Bucky came back to the penthouse, it was quiet. He found Felicity sitting in the living room staring blankly at the TV, which had some history documentary on.

“Did you get a hold of Caitlin?” He asked, Felicity nodded. “I got what you asked for. Bought one of each kind because I didn’t know if one was better or something.” The blonde didn’t speak but took the bag from his hands and turned away. He reached out and grabbed her arm. “Hey, talk to me. What’s going on in that beautiful brain of yours?”

“A lot, I’m scared.” She finally admitted. “I mean, we never talked about kids or anything.”

“Why don’t we talk now then?” He suggested. “What are your thoughts?”

“I…when I was younger, I never thought I’d meet someone I cared about enough and who cared about me enough to start a family with. I always- I want kids.”

“I do too. Especially since I met you.” Bucky admitted.

“So if I really am pregnant, you wouldn’t be upset?”

“Of course not. Did you think I would be?” Bucky sounded hurt.

“I didn’t know what your feelings would be. I thought we’d be having the kids discussion after things calmed down a little. Since I didn’t know how you’d react, my brain kept coming up with the worst-case scenario.” Felicity explained. She wiped her eyes, which were starting to water and gave a small smile. “I talked to Caitlin, she said she could get here tomorrow afternoon.” Felicity opened the pharmacy bag and took a few boxes out. “Hand me that jug, the suspense is killing me.”

Felicity took the bag and the jug of water and headed into the bathroom. “Do you want me to come with you?”

“I don’t need you to watch me pee. And I don’t want you to watch me pee.” She responded. She closed the door, did her business and came out empty handed. She sat down on the couch next to Bucky. “Now, we wait.”

“How long?”

“Most said five minutes, a few said three. I don’t wanna look at any of them until they’re all done.”

“Ok.” Bucky told her as he set a timer on his phone. “No matter what those tests say, I love you.”

“I love you too.” Felicity said before kissing him.

Four minutes and forty-nine seconds later, the timer went off. The pair walked into the bathroom silently. It felt like the longest five minutes of their lives. Felicity flipped the first test over.

“it’s positive.” She flipped another one over. “Negative.” She flipped two more over. “Positive, positive.”

“Smiley face is a good thing right?” Bucky asked as he looked at another one.

“Yeah.”

Of the eight tests Felicity had taken, seven were positive. “We’re gonna be parents.”


	52. Chapter 52

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity has a check-up and Team Flash comes to visit.

“We’re gonna be parents.”

The second the words left her mouth, Bucky bent down so that he was eye-level with Felicity’s stomach. “Hello, little one.” he said, barely above a whisper.

“Why are you whispering?” Felicity asked.

“Don’t want to scare him or her.”

“You won’t, but if you whisper the baby might not hear you. There's a bunch of skin and fluids between you and the baby, kinda muffles the sound.”

“Good point.” Bucky conceded before focusing back on Felicity’s flat stomach. “Hello, little one. I’m your dad. Your mom and I are very excited you’re on the way. I’ll talk to you later, ok?” he stood back up. “Why are you crying?”

“I’m just really happy. Also, hormones probably.” Felicity said. “I mean, we’re having a baby and everyone’s gonna be so excited and you’re gonna be such a good dad and I- I haven’t been this happy in a long time.”

“When do you want to tell everyone?” Bucky asked.

“Not right now. I want Caitlin to confirm that I’m pregnant and how far along I am before anyone else knows. They say not to tell people right away, it’s bad luck or something.” Felicity explained. “I also need to call Talia first.”

“Why Talia, why not Nyssa?”

“Because Nyssa’s never been pregnant. I never told you about Talia’s son, did I?” Bucky shook his head. “So, Talia and Bruce Wayne, yes Batman, were kinda a thing about nine years ago. They got married and she got pregnant. She got into a few dangerous situations that he kept getting hurt rescuing her from. It didn’t take her long to realize he was probably going to get himself killed trying to protect her and their child, so she told him she had a miscarriage and their relationship fell apart.”

“And he’s being raised in Nanda Parbat I’m guessing.”

“No. She and Ra’s weren’t on good terms at the time; she convinced everyone she’d lost the baby, not just Bruce. She gave birth and gave Damian up for adoption before returning to Nanda Parbat. She didn’t tell anyone about Damian until three years ago.”

“What happened?”

“He was adopted by a nice couple in New Jersey. When he was five, Damian’s adopted parents were killed in a car accident. The police and CPS started searching for relatives to take him in. Part of that process involved running Damian’s DNA to locate his father since only Talia had officially waived her parental rights. The Gotham Police Department had a sample of Bruce’s blood thanks to a kidnapping and ransom attempt like six years ago, which is what Damian’s DNA matched with. CPS contacted him, he took Damian in and then confronted Talia. That’s how Ra’s and the rest of the League found out about him. He lives with Bruce, but once every few months he visits his mother and grandfather in Nanda Parbat.” Felicity explained. “I visited him in Gotham last year after the Undertaking. I also reached a tenuous agreement with Bruce.”

“About what?”

“I wanted to get to know my nephew and be able to consult with Bruce about vigilante stuff if I need to. In exchange, he asked that I not come to Gotham on League business and I don’t try to sway Damian into joining the League of Assassins. It was an easy choice to make.” 

“Oh. Ok.”

It was quiet for a few minutes before Felicity spoke. “It’s a good thing we had sushi last week, because I’m gonna miss that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Pregnant women aren’t supposed to eat raw seafood. It’s one of the many things they tell you to avoid.”

“That’s good to know.” Bucky said before turning and heading into the kitchen. Felicity followed after him, and saw him standing in front of the fridge, looking at something on his phone.

“What- what are you doing?” she asked as he started pulling things out.

“Getting rid of all the foods you can’t eat. This site is very specific.” He said before throwing out a container of deli turkey. He began inspecting the milk. “How do I know if milk is pasteurized?”

“That milk is pasteurized.” Felicity said.

“How do you know?”

“Because raw milk tastes weird and I would’ve made you take it back to the store if you bought unpasteurized milk.” She explained.

“So, if I keep buying this kind, it won’t hurt the baby.”

“No, it won’t.” she reassured him. “You wanna talk about what this is really about?”

“I don’t know what you mean.” He said as he kept digging through the fridge.

“James, look at me for a second. You’re cleaning out the fridge because you’re anxious, and that’s ok. We just got a very big, and very happy, surprise. Why don’t we both give it some time to sink in before we do anything else?”

“Yeah, I just- I’ve hurt a lot of people. I don’t want you or the baby to be one of them, even by accident.”

“We won’t be. Now, I think this calls for some _Planet Earth_ , don’t you?”

It started a few weeks after defeating Slade. Whenever Bucky, or Felicity for that matter, got too anxious or restless about something, nature or science documentaries worked to calm them down. The combination of soothing narration and the musical score helped the tension fade away.  Listening to David Attenborough’s description of animal life in the Himalayas kept Bucky and Felicity’s minds focused enough so that they didn’t have the energy to panic about ‘what ifs’ regarding the baby. 

* * *

 

**The Next Day**

“Greetings Ms. Smoak, Sergeant Barnes. I didn’t think you’d be back so soon.” JARVIS said as they entered the elevator.

“Neither did we.” Felicity answered. “JARVIS, are there any out-of-the-way exam rooms on the medical floor that won’t be in use this afternoon?” She didn’t want everyone to know why she was here.

“Exam Suite Seven is always kept reserved for any Tower occupants. Or friends thereof.” JARVIS added that last bit when Felicity was about to argue that she wasn’t an occupant.

“Thanks JARVIS.” 

Felicity and Bucky went up to the top floor of the tower, expecting most of the Avengers to already be upstairs. They weren’t wrong. Steve, Natasha, Tony, Bruce, Pepper and Wanda were all upstairs waiting.

“Wow, less than a day. I thought you’d be gone at least three before deciding to move back.” Tony remarked.

“We aren’t moving back. We’re just here to visit, and help out a friend.”

“What friend?”

“Barry called, well I called him yesterday, anyway. He said quote ‘something impossible happened’ and he hoped some of you might have answers for him.” Felicity explained. “So his team is coming. Also, I’ve got an appointment later.”

 

“Why can’t I know where we’re going?” Cisco whined from the backseat of Caitlin’s rental car.

“Because I wanna see your genuine reaction when we get there.” The doctor answered.

“Oh, it’s gonna be great.” Barry said. “You know, I could’ve just run us here.” Being a speedster, Barry found cars too slow and confining now, so he avoided them as much as possible.

“We’re trying to be quiet about this. The Flash showing up in New York wouldn’t stay quiet.” Caitlin said as she turned the corner.

“Oh, my god.” Cisco said as he saw Stark Tower. “Do you- Are we- you know the Avengers?”

“You know that super-secret case I got called in on a few months ago? It was a team-up with them.” Barry answered. Caitlin drove into the garage and parked.

“Awesome.” Cisco said as he practically fell out of the car.

The trio walked into the building and JARVIS greeted them.

“Hello again, Mr. Allen.” The AI said, and Cisco practically squealed with excitement. “And friends. Shall I inform Mr. Stark of your arrival?”

“Ye-“

“Not quite yet. JARVIS, right?” Caitlin asked.

“That is correct, Dr. Snow. What would you like me to do?”

“Could we go to Felicity’s floor by any chance? I need to see her first.” Caitlin asked.

“Certainly. I will inform her of your arrival.”

 

The trio took the elevator to what was now Wanda and Pietro’s floor. Caitlin was immediately called upstairs to see Felicity.

“I can’t believe we’re stuck down here while Caitlin gets to hang out with the Avengers.” Cisco said to Barry as they sat in the common room on Felicity’s old floor.

“Avengers are not so great.” Pietro said from the doorway. “Besides, she is doing doctor things, not Avengers things. Nice to see you, Flash.”

“He knows your identity. You know his identity?”

“Yes.” Pietro sped towards Cisco and stole his wallet. “And now I know yours, Francisco Ramon.”

“He’s a- you’re a-“

“You did not tell him?” Pietro asked Barry.

“Felicity….convinced me to keep everything that happened quiet. She is very persuasive.” The scarlet speedster explained.

 

Upstairs, Caitlin had just finished running Felicity’s blood test. She came into the exam room where Bucky and Felicity were waiting.

“I suspect you already know this, but congratulations. You’re eight weeks pregnant, Felicity.” She told them. “Any questions?”

“Eight weeks?” Felicity asked. “So, right after Siberia?”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t this show up in her earlier bloodwork?” Bucky asked.

“Pregnancy can’t be detected earlier than four weeks or so. Felicity’s had a check-up, but no blood or urine tests in over a month.”

“Is it bad I’ve been taking birth control this whole time?”

“No, since your metabolism is so high, but obviously you should stop taking it.”

“What about alcohol? I’ve had a drink or two in the last month.”

“Again, once or twice wouldn’t have hurt the baby, but avoid it in the future.” Caitlin explained. “Do you want to see the baby?”

“We can do that?” Bucky asked. The future had a lot of amazing things, but this topped everything else he’d seen.

Caitlin nodded and brought the ultrasound closer the pair. “Ok, Felicity, I need to warn you, the gel’s gonna be a little cold.” She began spreading the gel onto Felicity’s stomach and turned the machine on. She moved the wand around for a few moments. “Let’s see if Baby Smoak-Barnes wants to make an appearance.”

“What’s that noise?”

“The baby’s heartbeat.” Caitlin answered.

“Is it supposed to be that fast? Is something wrong?” Bucky asked panicking.

“No, a baby’s heartbeat is faster than ours.” Felicity assured him. “All the sites I looked at yesterday said it’s normal.”

“Oh.”

“All right.” Caitlin said once she stopped moving the wand around. “Looks like someone wants to say hi.” She pointed to the screen. “Baby Smoak-Barnes’ head is right here. And that looks like an arm.” She pointed to another image on the scan. “It’s too early to tell the gender though.”

“That’s okay.” Felicity said. “It’s ok, right Bucky?”

Bucky was transfixed by the image on the screen. “That’s our baby.”

“Yeah. We’re gonna be parents.” Felicity said. “Can we get a copy of this or something?” she asked Caitlin who nodded.

When the images were done printing, she left to give them some privacy.

“That’s-“ Bucky began to say, still staring at the image.

“I know.” Felicity said. “The test was one thing, but seeing it-“

“Yeah. You’re gonna be an amazing mother.” He said to her. 

* * *

 

Almost an hour after Caitlin left the couple alone, Felicity and Bucky made their way upstairs.

“Everything ok?” Steve asked. “You guys were gone for a long time.”

“Everything’s perfect.” Bucky answered, uncharacteristically happy.

“Good. JARVIS, you can let the speedster and his buddies upstairs now.” Tony said.

The team came up a moment later. Barry caught up with everyone while Cisco started having an extended fanboy moment.

“You’re Captain America. Smoak, why didn’t you tell me you knew him? And you’re Black Widow. I love how much of a badass you are. And you- you’re Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier. Felicity, you know him?”

“You could say that.” she asnwerd. “I’m glad I didn’t introduce you to Batman.”

“You know Batman?”

“Of course she knows Batman. She knows everyone.” Tony responded. “It’s why her hair is so big, it’s full of secrets. Now, why are you here?”

“’Right.” Barry said, snapping Cisco out of fanboy mode. “Harrison Wells kinda vanished right in front of us.”


	53. Chapter 53

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Flash and the Avengers debate, Felicity and Bucky have cute moments and Felicity makes plans

“Right.” Barry said, snapping Cisco out of fanboy mode. “Harrison Wells kinda vanished right in front of us.”

“What does that mean?” Bruce asked.

“Its easier if we just show you.” Caitlin explained.

Barry pulled out a flashdrive, which JARVIS scanned. A video began playing a few moments later.

“Mr. Allen, just because you’re fast enough to stop Leonard Snart doesn’t mean you are fast enough.” Harrison Wells began to say. “You haven’t yet achieved your top-“

Wells stopped speaking in the middle of his sentence. His face shifted into someone else’s. Whoever this man was, he was definitely not Harrison Wells. Not-Wells didn’t seem to realize his appearance had changed. A second or two later, the man seemed to dissolve before their eyes, leaving only the wheelchair behind. Team Flash stood around in awe for a few minutes before Cisco spoke.

“Did that- did we really just see that?” Cisco asked. “He just ‘pfft’ and disappeared right? I’m not hallucinating.”

The video stopped playing.

Wow, when you said he vanished, you really meant he vanished.” Felicity remarked.

“Yeah.” Cisco said. “That man, it was like he was wearing a Wells suit or mask or something. We ran his face through every database we could find, and the secret ones Felicity gave us access to, it didn’t match anywhere. It’s like this guy doesn’t exist.”

Felicity quietly asked JARVIS to replay the video and didn’t blink as she rewatched. The video played, and ended, and she replayed it again. “He’s not Wells, because he killed Wells.”

“What?”

“He’s obviously not Harrison Wells, we can agree on that right?” everyone nodded. “So the question is where and when did he take Wells’ place. We don’t know that, but based on his actions, he didn’t have to worry about the real Harrison Wells showing up. The only way to be sure he isn’t discovered is if the real Wells is dead.”

“Okay….” Cisco said quietly. “That still doesn’t explain what happened on that tape. We thought you might have answers.”

“We didn’t- we’re as confused as you about this.” Steve admitted. “But maybe between the ten of us we can come up with an explanation.”

The discussion went in a circle for the next two hours. The most popular theories were that Not-Wells was either abducted by aliens, erased from existence, sent to a parallel universe or he’d been disintegrated similar to Red Skull when he touched the Tesseract. The problems with the alien and parallel universe theories were that he was the only one affected. They couldn’t come up with an explanation of how or why he would’ve just been erased from existence. The Tesseract theory, which Steve suggested and seemed adamant about, had while bunch of issues that they didn’t even get into. In the end, it seemed they didn’t have enough information to explain any of this.

 

The group had stopped discussing what happened in Central City and had moved on to Barry and Cisco leaving with Bruce and Tony to do Science when Felicity’s phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Sister.” Talia’s voice said. “I cannot fathom why but I felt the need to call you all of a sudden.”

“Oh, well I won’t say I’m upset about it. I do have some news.” Felicity said. “I,um, are you in Nanda Parbat right now?”

“I am not. I have business in Metropolis at the moment.”

“That’s….nice. Can you stop in New York before you go home?”

“I would be happy to.” Talia answered before sounding concerned. “Is something wrong? Should I contact Father?”

“No, no. nothing’s wrong. I just….Bucky and I wanna have dinner with you. We can go to that Indian place we met at last time.” _Please say yes, please say yes._ “I also….I want Nyssa to come too. If she agrees, can you try to keep the bickering at a minimum?”

“If we must.” Talia answered. “I should have my business concluded in time for dinner tomorrow.”

“Great. See you then.” Felicity said before hanging up.

She then called Nyssa, who was just as worried that something was wrong. Eventually, Felicity calmed Nyssa down and she agreed to come to dinner. She wasn’t thrilled that Talia would be there was well, they bickered a lot which was why they didn’t spend time together often willingly, but said she’d try to be civil.

 

That night, Felicity and Bucky went back to the penthouse. Both were exhausted, so they stopped for pizza on the way home. It took her almost half an hour to convince Bucky that pizza was safe for her to eat. Finally, hungry and annoyed, she called up Caitlin to back her up. Bucky refused to feel embarrassed for being so overprotective. The couple steered away from anything too serious for the rest of the evening, and, after Nugget calmed down that they’d returned and gotten some playtime in with his humans, Felicity went to bed fairly early.

Sometime later, probably around midnight, the blonde felt the bed shift as Bucky joined her. This woke her up slightly, especially when he pulled his pillow down so that his head was next to her nonexistent bump.

“Hi, baby.” He whispered. “We got to see you today for the first time. And Daddy was very excited, and a little scared. See, I’ve never done any of this before, so I kept worrying something might be wrong. But it wasn’t, and everything went well. That….today’s one of the best days of my life. You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Just, don’t tell your mom, she’ll tease me about it.”

“Not gonna tease you.” Felicity said quietly.

“Oh, I….how much did you hear?”

“Everything.” She said grinning. “Baby Smoak-Barnes is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever see too.”

It was quiet for a few moments. “I’m sorry, about how overprotective I’m being. I know it’s a little annoying it’s just-”

“Just what?” Felicity asked when he trailed off. “You can tell me.”

“I’ve done a lot of bad things, I let so many people down. Let so many people close to me get hurt, including you. I….I don’t want that to happen to the baby.”

“You won’t.” Felicity said with finality in her voice.

“How do you know?”

“Because I know you. Which means I know you’ll do whatever it takes to prevent that from happening.” Felicity said. Her voice cracked a little bit. “And that’s why you’re gonna be the best dad ever. I’m sorry, I don’t know why I’m crying, so I’m gonna blame the hormones.” 

Bucky and her both chuckled at that and fell asleep.

 

The former assassin was awoken the next morning when Felicity suddenly got up and ran from the room. Rubbing sleep from his eyes, he followed her and soon found her retching into the toilet.

“Hey, are you-?” he asked as he bent down.

“Don’t. It’s morning sickness, it’s normal. I feel gross though so don’t come closer.”

“You could never be gross.” Bucky said before she shot him an annoyed look. “What can I do?”

“Crackers and something to drink would be nice.” Felicity answered before she started to retch again. “Just nothing with caffeine.”

The next hour or so wasn’t very fun for Felicity or Bucky. The blonde was starting to think Lyla had underplayed how much morning sickness sucked.

“Are you ok to go to dinner?” Bucky asked late that afternoon.

“Yeah. I feel fine now.” Felicity said. “I also….the longer I out off telling them, the more nervous I’m gonna get.”

“You’re telling them tonight?” Bucky asked.

“Yes. Why did you think we were having dinner with Talia and Nyssa?”

“I guess I didn’t really think about it.” he said shrugging.

 

Felicity’s anxiety about telling her sisters she was pregnant didn’t appear for most of the day. She wasn’t nervous in the morning, she felt at ease as she and Bucky got ready for dinner. She was fine when they left. It wasn’t until she turned the corner leading up to the restaurant that she began to panic.

“I…it’s gonna be okay right? They’re gonna be happy for me.”

“They’re gonna be thrilled, Felicity.” Bucky reassured her. “Because you’re happy and they want you to be happy.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Felicity said, mostly assuring herself, before walking into the restaurant.

Both women were already there. Talia and Nyssa were sitting in tense silence, waiting for Felicity’s arrival. Everyone said their hellos and sat down. A waiter came by and took their drink orders.

When Felicity ordered a water, both her sisters exclaimed the same thing at the same time.

“Bloody hell, you’re pregnant.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally, the beginning part of this chapter was a lot longer, but it didn't really make much sense in terms of what the characters already knew.
> 
> Well, that secrets out. How did they know?


	54. Chapter 54

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone (and by that I mean everyone who isn't Hydra) finds out about Baby Smoak-Barnes.

**New York**

“Bloody hell, you’re pregnant.” Talia and Nyssa both exclaimed. The waiter, smartly, disappeared as soon as they spoke.

“I- why do you think that?” Felicity asked.

“You ordered a water. You always order wine when the three of us are together because, according to you, it numbs the pain.” Talia explained. “Adding to that you don’t need to worry about getting drunk, there’s only one reason why you wouldn’t order alcohol now.”

Nyssa nodded. “It would also explain why you wanted to meet with us, and why you wanted us on our best behavior.”

Bucky reached under the table and squeezed Felicity’s hand. “Ok, this isn’t how I wanted to tell you, but you’re right. I’m pregnant. And I wanted to tell you in person.”

It was quiet for a few moments before both women started asking questions.

“Does Father know? Do you want a boy or girl?”

“How long have you known? How far along are you? Who else have you told?”

“Wait, can both of you stop for a second? I can’t answer you if you keep talking.” Felicity asked and both fell silent. “No, he doesn’t know yet. I don’t want one gender over the other. We just found out a few days ago. I’m roughly 8 weeks pregnant. The only people who know are you two and my doctor.”

“You told us before you told Father.”

“Yes.”

“That’s why you wanted to know if I was in Nanda Parbat.” Talia said in realization.

“I didn’t- I wanted to tell you before I told him. There’s…a lot of reasons why telling you is easier. I just- as soon as I tell him, he’s gonna pull the Demon Head card and I’m not quite ready for that yet. Which is why I’d appreciate it if you didn’t say anything to him about this. I’ll tell him when I’m ready.”

“You believe he’s going to be upset?” Nyssa asked.

“The opposite actually. He’s gonna be way too happy. I’m giving him his long-awaited grandchild who, unlike Damian, has two parents that don’t completely hate the League. Which means he’s gonna go super overboard with the whole ‘need to protect me’ thing.” Felicity said. “Can we change the subject please?”

“How do you feel about this, Sergeant Barnes?” Talia asked.

“I’m excited, and a little worried. Don’t really have a lot of experience with pregnancy or children to be honest.”

“But you’re happy about this development?”

“You mean, am I happy Felicity’s pregnant. Of course, I am. She’s the love of my life, why wouldn’t I be happy we’re having a baby.”

“Correct answer.” Nyssa replied. “Now, what’s good here?”

Dinner went pretty well after that. There was some fighting, but no one pulled a weapon out, which was actually an improvement. 

* * *

 

**Las Vegas**

Donna Smoak was putting her purse away in the staff breakroom when her cellphone rang. She still had about five minutes before her shift started, so she looked down at the device and saw who it was.

“Hey, honey.” She said as she answered Felicity’s call. “Everything ok?”

“Hey, mom. Everything’s fine. Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Well, you called me. You don’t call me often enough, just birthdays and holidays. And now I sound like my mother.” She said rolling her eyes.

“I….did call for a reason. I have news.” Felicity said. “Are you sitting down?”

Feeling worried all of a sudden, Donna immediately sat down and took several deep breaths. “Ok, I’m sitting down. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong. Mom, I’m pregnant.”

It was silent for three nanoseconds as Donna’s brain processed the words. “AAHH! You’re pregnant?! I’m gonna be a grandma!”

“Yeah, you are.”

“I told you that you two would make cute babies!”

“Yeah, you did.”

One of the other cocktail waitresses came running into the room. “Donna, everything ok?”

“Everything’s perfect Lori. I’m gonna be a grandma!”

After listening to her mother, and her mother’s coworkers, yell in excitement about her news, Felicity ended the call around fifteen minutes later. 

* * *

 

**Starling City**

Sara was leaving her dad’s favorite Chinese restaurant when her phone rang. She and Captain Lance tried to have dinner together once a week since she’d come back to Starling. Occasionally, Laurel or Nyssa joined them, but tonight it had been just the two of them. She said goodbye to her dad before answering.

“Hey, Blondie.” She said into the phone.

“Hi. Are you….with the team right now?” Felicity asked, she sounded nervous.

“No, why?”

“Could you….can you get to Verdant and call me?”

“Felicity, is something wrong? You’re kinda freaking me out.”

“Nothing’s wrong.”

“Prove it. What was that name you used to call Isabel?”

“There were two, Isabitch and the other one that was a lot ruder.” Felicity answered with a sigh. “Do you believe me now?”

“Yeah, I’ll call you back when I get there.”

 

Sara drove to Verdant and let herself into the Arrowcave. She was hoping everyone else was already there. Ironically, Oliver was the only team member who wasn’t there. He’d gotten stuck in a late meeting with one of his attorneys.

“So, Felicity called me.” Sara said to the others while they waited.

“Cool. How’s she doing?”

“I don’t know. She called and asked if I was with your guys. When I said no, she asked me to come here and then call her. I think something’s up. She didn’t act like it was an emergency though.”

“Sorry, I’m late guys, Jean- Sara, what are you doing here?” Oliver said as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

“Felicity needs to talk to all of us. She didn’t say what it was about.”

“She’s here?”

“Ollie, they have these things called cellphones.” Thea pointed out.

“They also have this thing called Skype.” Felicity’s voice said from one of the computers. They turned to see Felicity’s face on the center monitor. “Hey guys.”

“Hey, Felicity. Everything ok?” Digg asked.

“Oh, everything’s fine. I just….have news.”

“This is good news, right?”

“Yup. Very good news.” Felicity said smiling. She paused for a moment before taking a deep breath. “I’m having a baby.”

It was dead silent in the lair before Thea started screaming.

“Oh, my god! You’re gonna be a mom! That’s amazing!”

“Thanks Thea. I think I broke the rest of them.” Felicity said. No one else seemed to have processed what she said. Roy, Digg and Oliver all snapped back to reality around the same time.

“Congratulations, Felicity.” They told her. “You’re gonna be a great mom.”

“Thanks. Sara? I was kinda expecting some reaction from you.”

Sara seemed to shake herself back to the present. “No, I’m happy for you, like really happy for both of you. It’s just- remember that thing you, Barnes and I talked about before you moved?”

“Yeah.” She admitted.

“Is there a-?”

“I was only a few weeks pregnant at the time. They couldn’t have known.” Felicity answered.

They continued talking for another half hour or so. Eventually, they moved away from talking about Felicity’s pregnancy and caught up on what was going on in Starling and New York respectively. The call ended when Felicity saw the time and said she had to go. 

* * *

 

**New York**

A door slamming awoke Clint from his nap. He’d fallen asleep sprawled out on the couch in the Tower’s common room a few hours earlier. He jolted up and groggily yelled.

“I’m awake.”

“Yeah, we can see that.” Nat commented from the kitchen where she was digging through the cabinets. The others were spread out across the room. Bruce was reading, Tony was on the phone with Pepper. Steve was trying to explain Gin to Thor. Pietro and Wanda were in the corner talking to Barry. “How can you fall asleep in that position?”

“it’s a gift.” He answered. He then saw a mug sitting on the coffee table. “Yay, iced coffee.” He grabbed the mug and took a sip. He spat it out seconds later. “What the hell is that?”

“Decaffeinated coffee, Agent Barton.” JARVIS answered.

“Decaf? Who would mutilate coffee like that?” Clint yelled.

“I have decaf?” Tony asked. “When did I buy decaf? Pep, when did you buy decaf?” he asked into the phone.

“A while ago.” Bruce answered. “Caffeine and I don’t always mix well.”

“Well, take your gross not-coffee then.” Clint said practically shoving the mug towards him.

“That’s not mine.” The physicist answered.

“I think that mug is- oh.” Barry said trying to be helpful. He got quiet as he put two and two together. “Never mind.”

“What is it, kid?”

_Felicity’s gonna kill me._ “Why would someone be drinking decaf?” Barry asked. Felicity couldn’t be angry if they figured out what was going on for themselves, could she?

“Because they can’t have caffeine for some reason.”

“Oh.” Bruce, Natasha and Wanda all said at the same time.

“You don’t think-?”

“It would explain a few things.”

“What?” Clint, Steve and Tony all asked. Thor and Pietro weren’t paying attention because they lost interest after JARVIS told Clint it was decaf.

“We, uh, we can’t really tell you.” Barry said.

“Why not?”

“For one thing, I don’t wanna die and it’s not my announcement to make.” The speedster answered. “And I will die if I tell you.”

“You’re right. It’s not your announcement to make.” Felicity said from the elevator. “It’s his. I promised he could tell them.” She gestured to Bucky.

“What are you-?” Steve began to say.

“We’re having a baby.” Bucky blurted out. “Felicity’s pregnant.”

Everyone started yelling in excitement and went to congratulate the couple.

* * *

 

**Nanda Parbat**

Ra’s was deep in mediation when Kirigi appeared at the doorway.

“Pardon the intrusion, my liege.” the man said bowing. “Sarab has made contact via satellite phone. He requested to speak with you.”

“Did he inform you of why?”

“He did not. He said the matter was important but not urgent.”

The answer confused the Demon Head somewhat. Sarab was supposed to be protecting Zahara. If Zahara was in danger or injured, that should be considered both important and urgent. If she wasn’t hurt or in danger, then what could be so important that Sarab would call unexpectedly? Intrigued by the phrasing Sarab had used, Ra’s followed the other assassin through the compound.

He dismissed the others and answered the phone. “Yes.”

“My liege.”

“Kirigi informed me you have something quote ‘important but not urgent’ to discuss with me.”

“Lady Zahara is with child.” Sarab said bluntly. “She and Al-Jundi told Lady Talia and Lady Nyssa at dinner earlier tonight.”

_And yet, she has not told me._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a little bit of family drama going on right now, isn't there?  
> Quick question, in this story, how many kids should Bruce Wayne have? I mean, he has Damian obviously, but how many/which others? I'd really like your opinions on that. It's important for later.  
> (Translation: how many Batkids is too many Batkids?)


	55. Chapter 55

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity and Ra's talk, and plot, Bucky and Steve talk, and Felicity, finally, talks to Coulson.

**New York**

The morning after Felicity had dinner with her sisters, she once again found herself sick. She’d only had morning sickness for two days, and she was already tired of it. Bucky was being as supportive as possible, running to the kitchen multiple times to get her crackers and ginger ale. Eventually, just like the day before, the nausea passed and the blonde was able to start her day.

She soon found herself on the floor below her own apartment, waiting for Sarab to answer the door.

He cracked the door open slightly. “My lady, is something wrong?”

“No, but I need to speak with my father.” she answered. “I know you've got someway to contact him. I need to use it. I’d rather get this conversation over with as soon as possible.”

Sarab studied her for a moment. He was surprised she was telling the Demon Head about her pregnancy so soon. Surprised, but pleased. Secrets within the al Ghul family always meant trouble for the rest of the League.

“Give me a moment to locate the satellite phone.” He said as he opened the door wider so she could enter. “Are we still sparring this afternoon?”

“Probably not a good idea.” She said vaguely. “I’m still feeling….unwell.”

“Ah. Here it is.” He handed the device to her. “If you need me, I will be sparring with Malaq next door.”

Felicity nodded and dialed the phone. A voice she recognized but couldn’t place answered the phone.

_ “What is it now, Sarab?”  _

_ “I am not Sarab. This is Zahara, daughter of Ra’s al Ghul.” _

_ “My lady, I-“ _

_“I wish to speak with my father.”_ Felicity said cutting him off. She didn’t have the time or the energy to deal with five minutes of apologies right now. _“Please tell him it’s rather important.”_ She heard the man bark orders to someone else in Arabic.

_“Hello, my child.”_ Ra’s voice said a few moments later _. “Leave us.”_ He said to someone on his end. _“I hear congratulations are in order, since you are pregnant.”_

_Crap. This isn’t why I was calling._ Felicity realized how he already knew her news. Either Sara told him, unlikely, or Sarab did. Felicity had forgotten he was within earshot when she told Talia and Nyssa last night. _“Let me guess, Sarab told you? I’m sure Nyssa and Talia both would’ve given me at least a day to tell you my news.”_

_ “Yes, he did. Yet, as delighted as I am for you, I would have preferred to hear this news from you.” _

_“I wanted to tell you in person. Which is why I asked Nyssa and Talia not to tell you. We were going to finish up on some business in New York before traveling to Nanda Parbat sometime soon.”_ Felicity admitted. _“I didn’t call to talk about my pregnancy.”_

_ “Then why did you call?” _

_“As you know, SHIELD has been rather…adamant about discovering which Hydra members are still a problem and which ones aren’t. It’s starting to annoy me, so I’m going to give them a nudge in the right direction the day after tomorrow.”_ She said. _“I imagine most of their top people will be at that meeting.”_

_“Why are you informing me of this?”_ Based on his last conversation with Felicity, he knew she wasn’t going to give SHIELD any real details. Just an answer of ‘dealt with’ or ‘still at large’ when asked about specific people. He also knew Felicity, for several reasons including her distrust of SHIELD, wouldn’t tell the agency where Nanda Parbat was.

_ “Because they can’t be in two places at once. If all of their top brass are in a closed meeting with me, they can’t also be at any of SHIELD’s prisons. So, hypothetically, if there was a prisoner they had that the League wished to…confront, Thursday would be the ideal day to do that. You know, in case you needed to.”  _

Felicity wasn’t stupid. As soon as Ra’s found out Kruno Modric had been at the Siberian base, he needed to either die or be taken by the League. His comments about how ‘game changing’ her survival was only made the situation worse. If he was alive and in SHIELD’s custody, there was always a chance he could tell them about Felicity’s condition. If he was dead or imprisoned by the League, he couldn’t tell SHIELD anything.  

Felicity ended her conversation with Ra’s and called Bruce Wayne. She asked if she and Bucky could come to the manor for brunch this coming Saturday or Sunday. Bruce, still a little wary of Felicity and even more wary of Bucky, asked her what the occasion was. She waved him off, telling him that she had some exciting news that had nothing at all to do with anything Bat-related. He agreed after she wore him down a little bit.

* * *

Bucky, meanwhile, had left the penthouse when Felicity did, but instead of following her downstairs, he walked to Stark Tower. The former assassin knew he needed to talk to Steve about some things. A lot of things, actually. They hadn’t talked about anything serious since DC with the exception of Steve asking how Felicity was right after Siberia. Bucky knew Steve, so he knew when Steve wasn’t saying what he was thinking.

Hoping to get this over with, and the tension out of the way, Bucky entered the Tower and asked JARVIS to take him to whatever floor Steve was on. Unsurprisingly, he was in the gym, beating up a punching bag.

“Hey, punk.” Bucky said when he got closer to Steve.

“Jerk.” He responded before going back to hitting.

“Are we seriously doing this?”

“Doing what?”

“The thing where you hit something instead just telling me what you’re thinking.” Bucky said matter-of-factly.

Steve paused. “What are you-?”

“Don’t try to bullshit me, Steve. I know you. So I know there’s something you aren’t saying that you want to.” Bucky said. “You’ve been holding a lot of stuff in.”

“Dammit. You know me too well.” Steve said before sighing. “I’m not sure where to start.”

“Well, I’ve got time. Felicity’s probably gonna be busy for the next few hours.”

“With what?”

“She needed to call her father, and based off their other conversations, its gonna take awhile. They have a strained relationship to say the least.”

“Her father, the Demon Head. The head of the League of Assassins.” Steve said, in a ‘this is totally normal’ voice. “I guess you and Felicity is a good place to start.”

“Me and Felicity. Let’s hear what you have to say.” Bucky said trying to keep his cool.

“I said that wrong. I have no issue with Felicity and you as a couple. I know she was a huge part of helping you recover from what they did to you. I just can’t believe you found a woman willing to put up with how nerdy you are.” Steve said, trying not to get too serious too fast. “And I can’t believe I didn’t get to see your wedding.”

“Well, I lucked out and found a woman who’s a bigger nerd than me.” Bucky said. “And almost no one, except one League member, got to see our wedding.” _I wasn’t even at my wedding._ “When everything calmed down, she wanted to have a quote ‘real wedding with our nine bajillion friends’ end quote.”

After Siberia, Felicity finally talked Talia and Nyssa into explaining how exactly they managed to get married without realizing it. League weddings didn’t require vows, just the bride to be present and the Demon Head's approval. Within a week of Felicity first coming to Nanda Parbat in 2009, Ra’s declared the two married. It turned out Bucky willingly returning to Hydra to keep Felicity safe was enough to convince him.

“And now you’re going to be a parent.”

“Yeah, and you’re gonna be an uncle. My kid’s gonna need his or her Uncle Stevie.” Bucky said. “Or did you think that wasn’t gonna happen? You don’t get a choice, you’re gonna be that kid’s uncle. Even if I have to sic Felicity and Nat on you to do it.”

“Can you relax please? You don’t need to resort to the nuclear option. I’m excited for you.”

“Oh. Then what’s the problem then?”

“It’s just a lot to take in. Six months ago, I thought you were dead. And now you’re alive and married and gonna be a dad. This is on top of all the other stuff I gotta process. I mean, from my perspective, the war was three years ago, I woke up and a week later aliens attacked and now we have cheese in a can and bananas don’t taste the same! I can only handle so much.” Steve ranted. “Wow, that felt good.”

“Yeah, I can tell.” Bucky said, amused. “So you’re good with Felicity, and me and Felicity and the existence of Baby Smoak-Barnes.”

“Well, I’m a little perturbed by Felicity’s willingness to kill people and the fact her whole family are assassins, but yeah. Mostly I’m good.”

“You’ve got a problem with the League.”

“Yeah, I don’t trust them. They’re called the League of Assassins. You’re an infamous assassin. Seems like trouble waiting to happen. On top of that, they knew you were alive, possibly for years, and never tried to help you.”

“Actually, they did more than once. A member died trying to sneak me out of Siberia years ago. They tried to help me when I was on the run in Cambridge, but it was too late. I was almost recaptured by Hydra two weeks after the helicarrier, but Talia gave me a hand. She also gave me a nudge towards Starling to find Felicity.” He said.

“They’re still assassins.”

“Lately, their work has been less mindless killing and more ‘for the greater good’. Besides, you know what they say about glass houses.” He said. “Now, let’s talk about you.”

“What about me?”

“Again, punk, I’m not stupid. I know all your facial tics. You either met someone or started seeing someone. Which is it and who are they?”  _And do they know I will kill them if they hurt you?_

"Maybe I did."

* * *

 

**The Playground**

Coulson was in a meeting when his phone rang. He ignored it. Then, his desk phone rang. He didn’t answer, then, every phone in the room began to ring. Finally, out of annoyance, Skye answered her phone.

“Hello?...Oh….Here he is.” She handed the phone to Coulson.

“Yes?”

“Don’t sound so angry, you’re the one who was obsessively calling me.” Felicity pointed out.

“How did you even get these numbers?”

“Remember who you’re talking to before you ask stuff like that.” she responded. “Do you still want to know what I found?”

“Of course I do.”

“Great. Ground rules though. One: no asking me for details. The intel I give you is the intel I give you. Two: no cellphones in this meeting. I was anonymous for a reason and they'd just be a distraction. Three: I will be bringing three people with me. They stay with me the entire time. I don’t care who’s there in regards to SHIELD as long as they’re SHIELD agents and not some other agency. Do you understand and accept my conditions?”

“Yeah. When and where?”

“Thursday, I’ll be arriving at the Playground around 10am.”

“How do you-?”

“Do you really want the answer to that question?” Felicity asked. “Give the phone back to Skye.”

Coulson, somewhat shell-shocked, did exactly that. The two hackers spent the next few minutes catching up. Coulson turned to May and told her everything Felicity had just said. He informed her that he wanted his team, Morse, Mack, Koenig and the four agents overseeing SHIELD’s three prisons and the Cube at the meeting as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who do you think Steve's talking about?  
> What do you think will happen next?  
> Unrelated to this chapter, but do you think the baby is a boy or girl?


	56. Chapter 56

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Apologies, revelations and some fluff

**New York**

Before Bucky left Stark Tower, he made a stop on Natasha’s floor. He knocked on the door, only to hear Clint’s voice yelling out.

“Seriously, Stark?”

“Not Stark.” He yelled back. “I need to speak with Natalia.”

“We’re in the middle of somethi- ow.” Clint responded. The door then opened. “First time I get my girlfriend alone in days and you show up. Way to spoil the mood, dude.”

“This will only take five minutes.” Barnes responded. Clint grumbled something and stormed off. “Sorry to interrupt.” He told Natasha.

“He’ll get over it. holding grudges isn’t his strong suit.” She responded. “What’s this about?”

“I came to apologize.”

“For what?” she crossed her arms.

“For DC, for Odessa. But mostly for what happened in the Red Room. I realized on the way over that I never even tried to apologize to you for that.”

Her body relaxed slightly. “Barnes, you-.”

“I know that I wasn’t…me. And that neither of us were given much choice. That doesn’t change what happened. You were just a kid, Natalia. And I helped turn you into something else.”

“If it hadn’t been you, it would’ve been someone else. The situation was different back then, we were different. I stopped being angry about it a long time ago. So, if you want me to say I forgive you, fine, I forgive you. You’ve been forgiven for a long time.”

“Thank you, but I still needed to say it.”

“Well, now you did. Anything else you wanna say?”

“Nope. I’m gonna leave before Barton gets tired of waiting in the airducts and shoots me.” He turned and walked away.

 

When Bucky returned to the penthouse later that day, Felicity was already there. She was sitting on the couch, focused on the TV and didn’t hear him come in. No wanting to scare her, Bucky walked slowly over to her and sat next to her.

“What’re you watching?”

“It’s the weeping angels episode of Doctor Who, again.”

He shrugged and turned his attention back to the TV. After a few moments, he realized something. “We watched this one back in Cambridge. After your advisor complimented your thesis.”

For the first time since he entered the room, she turned to look at him. “Yeah, we did. That’s when I introduced you to mint chip.” She laughed. “It’s actually one of my favorite episodes.”

“Really? Last time, it seemed to scare you.”

“I wasn’t scared, I was just….uneasy. They did a good job of building up suspense.” She said defensively. “I talked to Ra’s.”

“How did that go? I mean, did he at least hear you out?” Before they both left, Felicity had explained to him that she was calling Ra’s to inform him she was going to talk to SHIELD. She also told Bucky there was a chance Ra’s might not react well to her sharing League information with non-League members.

“It went fine. I mean, he didn’t tell me not to speak with them. Just wanted to know why I felt the need to warn him.” She paused for a moment. “He knows about the baby.”

“You told him, I thought you wanted to wait.”’ Felicity just shook her head. “You didn’t tell him? then who did?”

“Sarab. I’d gotten so used to having him shadowing me that I forgot he was at dinner, in the room with us, when I told Talia and Nyssa.”

“Was he happy, your father?”

“He said he was. I don’t know if its because he’s hoping for a boy or what. The fact that he took it well worries me.”

“Why does it worry you?”

“Most of the time when Ra’s is happy with a choice I’ve made, its because it fits his agenda. Maybe he really is happy, or maybe he thinks this child could be his quote ‘true’ successor.” She explained. “How was your day?”

“Ok. Steve and I talked. He got some stuff of his chest. I think we’re good. I also- Natasha and I talked a little about our time in Russia. We resolved some things.”

“That’s good. Right?”

“Yeah, its good.’ He answered. “How are you feeling?”

“Hungry, tired, and I really miss coffee.” She admitted. “And don’t offer to get me decaf because its not the same.”

“I don’t have a death wish, so I wasn’t gonna.” He said, holding his hands up in surrender.

 

The next day, Felicity and Bucky headed to back to the Tower. Tony had been asking Felicity to stop by so they could do more experiments before her pregnancy kept her away from lab equipment. Additionally, Maria Hill cryptically told Bucky there were some things he needed to know.

The couple arrived at Stark Tower in the late morning, and Felicity was immediately drawn into a scientific debate with Bruce and Tony the second they stepped off the elevator. Bucky greeted everyone, but mostly watched Felicity interact with the two scientists.

**_“Stop that.”_** Natasha teased him. **_“I haven’t had enough coffee to deal with you two love birds. Especially that lovestruck look you get every time you look at her.”_**

**_“It looks so attractive on him, though.”_** Felicity said before going back to the point she was making to Tony.

“Wait, you speak Russian?” Steve, Tony, Natasha and Bucky asked.

**_“You talk in your sleep sometimes. I picked it up.”_** She answered, looking at Bucky.

“So, you understood me when I said-" _Fuck, she understood everything I said last night._ Bucky had taken to venting in Russian on the few occasions so far when Felicity’s hormones made her act a little irrational.

“Uh huh.”

“And you’re not-“

“I was, then I realized I was being kinda crazy about the spoons.” Last night, when Felicity got up to get ice cream, she discovered all their silverware was mixed together in one drawer. She couldn’t find the right size spoon and yelled at Bucky because, according to her, he hid the small spoons to make her feel fat. Even though she was the one who organized that drawer. It was a startling experience for Bucky.

“Spoons?” Clint ask, incredibly confused.

“it’s not worth getting into right now.” Bucky said before they could delve too far into the story.

 

A few hours later, they left. Felicity, Tony and Bruce had a productive, and thankfully non-explosive day in the lab. From what Bucky understood, it was some experiment involving both robots and blueberries, although he wasn’t quite sure how the two related to one another. Hill’s news turned out to be a few suspected Hydra sightings and updates on some of the trials that had already begun.

Felicity and Bucky went home and Felicity immediately went to bed to take a nap. She wasn’t very far into her pregnancy, and she was already exhausted. Bucky grabbed some cracker and ginger ale and left it on the night stand. He was about to leave the room, when the blonde rolled over and her shirt rode up a little bit. He caressed her flat stomach lightly.

“We need to talk for a second, **_little one_**. You need to go a little easier on your mom for the next few days, ok? She’s gotta do a lot of stuff tomorrow, stuff that’s gonna make sure no one’s ever gonna hurt you, but you gotta meet her halfway. I’ll make you a deal-“

“Are you trying to negotiate with the baby?” Felicity whispered. “You know the baby doesn’t understand what you’re saying, right?”

“She’s got your brains. I’m pretty sure she can understand me right now.”

“She? You think it’s a girl?” Felicity asked, they hadn’t talked about whether they wanted a boy or a girl.

He suddenly felt nervous. “Well, I- I just have a feeling. I mean, when I pictured this, us having a kid, I kinda pictured a mini-you running around.”

“Well, a mini-me would be great, but so would a mini-Bucky. Especially with those big blue eyes of yours. He’d be so adorable.” Felicity said.

“So, you’ve thought about this too.”

“Of course I have, you dork.” She said laughing.


	57. Chapter 57

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity (finally) talks with SHIELD, and Ra's makes a move.

**The Playground**

Thursday morning found the SHIELD base on edge. The high-ranking agents knew what was going on, but most of the staff didn’t have the clearance and just knew everyone else was incredibly anxious.

A little after 10am, everyone in the hangar tensed when an SUV drove through the entrance gate and into the base. The agents held their breath as the vehicle moved closer to where they were waiting and stopped. Two men in suits exited the vehicle. One went to the rear passenger door and opened it. Felicity and another man in a suit stepped out. All three men then walked to the trunk and pulled out weapons. Two grabbed sheathed swords, the third grabbed a bow.

A group of SHIELD agents stepped forward with their guns drawn. “Hand over the weapons.” One of them said.

“Come and take them.” One of the men said. The only time a fully-fledged League member gave up their weapon, to anyone without the name al Ghul, was when they were defeated, and killed, in combat.

“Stand down, Agent Morse.” Felicity said in a bored voice to SHIELD agent who spoke. “You’re just going to embarrass yourself.”

“How do you-?” the woman wanted to know how Felicity knew her name.

“Let’s just assume I know everything about SHIELD, it saves time.” The blonde said. “Are you going to put the guns away, or are we just gonna stand here until we all die of old age?”

“Stand down.” Coulson told the agents. He then turned to Felicity. “Shall we?”

She nodded and the group went further into the base. They walked in silence through the hallways until Phil turned and opened one of the doors in a nondescript hallway. Everyone shuffled into the room and sat down. Felicity then pulled a small device out of her pocket and placed it on the table.

“What is that?”

“Cell phone jammer.” Felicity answered. “Hopefully, you all listened to Couslon and didn’t bring any, but better safe than sorry, right?” _I don’t trust any of you to actually listen_

A few people got guilty looks on their faces and tried not to seem suspicious.

“Now, let’s get this over with.” She grabbed a stack of files and began sifting through them. Wordlessly, she went through the pile and divided them into wo stacks. When she reached the last file, she sighed and spoke again. “This pile,” she put one hand on the taller stack, “you don’t need to worry about. That one, you do.”

“How do you know that?” an agent Felicity hadn’t met before asked. Felicity just shot him a look. “What?”

The assassins all fought the urge to roll their eyes. Contrary to what her appearance and her disposition might indicate, she wasn’t someone to mess with. Even before she received the super soldier serum, Felicity was one of the most dangerous people on the planet. Not due to her abilities, but due to what she could cause others, mainly Bucky Barnes and the al Ghul family, to do in an effort to protect her. With the serum, she only became more dangerous. Few of the agents realized it, but Felicity was the second or third to last person on earth they wanted to piss of.

“Let me make something very clear. I won’t be answering questions. You can believe me or not. It’s up to you. I do not owe you any explanations about anything. SHIELD approached me for help, not the other way around.” Felicity said in a tight voice. “Are we clear?”

Everyone nodded. Felicity grabbed another stack and sorted through it. On the third pile, she reached a specific file and snorted. The man, Mark Basso, had been a relatively average SHIELD agent and Hydra operative. After they were exposed though, he made a lot of dumb decisions. Like approaching a group of mercenaries looking for work. Unfortunately for Basso the mercenary leader, Matias Ramirez, was the alias of a League member. He immediately told the Demon Head of this development, and delivered Basso to the League. Basso then tried to escape and lost his head. Nyssa told Felicity about what happened, because she still couldn’t believe that turn of events.

The meeting went back to normal after that. By the time Felicity stood to leave, nearly three and a half hours had passed and she’d ‘closed’ roughly a third of their open cases. Before she left the room, she turned to Coulson. “Out of curiosity, how many of those names did he give you?”

“Who?”

“Grant Ward, the Hydra agent you have locked up downstairs.” Felicity said. All three League members changed their stances, ready to fight. They were prepared to search that base to kill Ward. _“Don’t. He isn’t worth the effort.”_  They did as they were told. “Has it occurred to you that his intel is incredibly outdated, or that he might lie?” She sighed. “Oh well, bye.”

“Until next time we have a bunch of unsolved cases, I guess.” Coulson said as the other agents dispersed.

“There won’t be a next time.”

“You can’t just-.”

“We’re leaving now. Don’t call me again about this.” Felicity turned and left. Two of her three guards followed immediately behind her. One held back for a few moments.

“Allow me to give you some free advice.” He said. “Trying to tell someone like her what to do does not end well. I’d suggest not doing that again.” The man then walked away. 

Felicity and the three assassins went drove back to New York. The blonde felt lighter after her meeting with SHIELD. She was also excited to see Bruce and the other Waynes in a few days.

* * *

 

**The Raft**

The guards all sighed in relief as the power in the facility turned back on. Sixteen minutes earlier, during the shift change, they lost all power to the facility. Fortunately, a loss of power meant every single cell door in the building locked automatically, so no prisoners could escape. Unfortunately, it also locked every maintenance and electrical room in the facility. So, the staff was forced to wait until the generators turned back on.

With the power, and more importantly the cameras, back on line, SHIELD needed to figure out what had happened and what the damage was.

Agent Joe Cole rolled his eyes. Of course something like this would happen when he was the agent in charge, not when his boss was there. “What’s the damage?”

“Mechanical is good to go.”

“Medical is clear.”

“Security is clear.”

“Block A is under control.”

“Block B, nothing to report.”

“C is under control.”

Cell blocks A, B and C were intended for normal prisoners. Ones who weren’t particularly dangerous or important. With those three levels under control, that left only one area to report in.

“Good. Max-Sec?” Cole asked. it was quiet. “Max-Sec report?”

“Umm….we have a situation.” One of the maximum-security guards answered. “You’re gonna wanna see this.”

Cole, and a team of four others, went down to the maximum security wing. He took one look around the cell block before ordering someone to call Coulson.

Unbeknownst to Cole, the Raft wasn’t the only SHIELD facility where things were interrupted by a freak occurrence that day. Multiple prisoners at the Fridge were found dead in their cells. At the Vault, a camera had been hacked. One second the hallway it showed was empty, the next it showed several bodies.

* * *

 

**Somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean**

“You realized they will try to blame Zahara.” Talia said to Ra’s which made him turn around.

“How can they? She was sitting with the director of SHIELD when all three prisons were infiltrated. Your sister has many skills, but even she cannot be in two places at once.”

The plan had worked flawlessly.  Using old access codes, they were able to gain entrance to each facility. After knocking out a guard or two, the security wasn’t difficult to get past. In one prison, they cut the power, another one had a hackable security camera in just the right spot. The third one was the easiest, Ra’s sent a League member undercover as staff there years earlier and Felicity purposefully made sure Kadir’s name never came up in any of her searches.

At one of the prisons, a League member entered the maximum-security block and killed the first two prisoners they saw. At the second, Kadir poisoned the food of several supermax inmates. At the third, the real target, they found and killed the four Hydra agents Ra’s most wanted gone.  This left SHIELD with at least eight bodies, four causes of death, and no way of knowing who the real target was. Some died from blowfish poison, some had broken necks, one was shot and three were stabbed. SHIELD couldn’t even connect the attacks, since each one was so different. The ‘victims’ were all arrested at different times, and in most cases, were involved in vastly different missions for Hydra.

"We established weeks ago that SHIELD ignores rationality when it suits them."

"I would certainly like to see them try and blame her for these events. It would be most amusing."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's up next? If you guessed Batfam, you're right.  
> PS I know this is a boring chapter, but I needed it to be here


	58. Chapter 58

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brunch with the Batfam (and some visitors), Coulson has a conundrum and Christine Everhart makes an appearance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I messed with the Batkid's ages so they'd be a little closer together.

 

**Gotham**

“Okay, let’s go over this again.” Felicity said as she drove through Gotham towards Wayne manor.

“Don’t bring up Talia or your dad or pretty much anything to do with the League. If any of that gets mentioned, stay as neutral as possible. Don’t talk about murder or being murdered or trying to murder people. It’ll upset Jason and Bruce.  Don’t mention clowns or scarecrows or pretty much anything related to any criminal Batman has fought. Don’t give or show them any weapons.” Bucky repeated the rules Felicity had told him. “Don’t give any of them coffee, especially Tim. Cassandra doesn’t talk much, don’t try to make her. If she does talk, don’t act like it’s a big deal.” She hadn't told him the whole story, but Bucky knew Cassandra hadn't spoken at all until a few months ago. She talked sometimes, but only when she had to or when she felt comfortable with the people she was with. He paused. “I feel like this is a little extreme for brunch.”

“You don’t know them like I do.” Felicity responded. “I meant, let’s go over who’s who again, not all the rules I made up.”

“Oh. Bruce is obvious. Dick’s the oldest and he’s…20?” Felicity nodded. “Jason’s next, he’s, I think you said 17 or so. Cassandra’s 15 or 16. Tim and Stephanie are both 13. Damian’s the youngest and he’s 8. Oh, and you mentioned he works with someone named Babs, but she’s not his kid and she’s around Dick’s age.” Bucky said. “That’s everyone. Oh, and Alfred Pennyworth, the butler, who’s the only functional adult according to you.”

 “You do listen to me.” Felicity teased. “I’m not freaking you out with this, am I?”

“You’re more worried about me making a good impression with your sister’s ex’s family than when I met your dad, so kinda.”

“Well, we both know where Ra’s stood in regards to you and me. Bruce….is another story.” They made the rest of the trip in silence. Bucky was still unsure how to bring up her meeting with SHIELD. She came back annoyed and the only thing she told him was that her business with them was done. He wasn’t quite sure what that meant.

A little before 10:30, Felicity turned up the driveway of Wayne Manor. The couple got out of the car and walked up the steps. Before they could ring the bell or knock, the door was thrown open.

“Finally!” a dark-haired teenager said. “They’re here!” he called into the house. He turned back to Felicity and Bucky. “Alfred wouldn’t let me have coffee until you got here.”

“You’re too young to be drinking coffee at all, Master Tim.” An English voice said from behind the teen. Tim rolled his eyes and walked off. Alfred gestured the pair inside. “Nice to see you again, Miss Felicity.”

“I told you before, it’s just Felicity.” The blonde responded. She then nudged Bucky slightly. “Alfred, this is-.”

“Sergeant Barnes, I presume.”

“Yeah- yes. That’s me.” he said awkwardly. “Nice to meet you.”

Alfred was about to respond when a crash was heard. A grunt, followed by a deep male voice yelling ‘Jason! Damian!’ was heard.

“It seems some of the children are a little too excited about your visit.” Alfred deadpanned as he led the couple further into the house.

Felicity and Alfred made small talk as they walked, and Bucky suddenly felt very, very nervous. They turned a corner, and a middle-aged man Bucky recognized from television was standing in the hallway.

“Hey Bruce. Thanks for having us over.”

“The kids missed you and the detective in me was intrigued by your phone call.” He answered before turning to Bucky. Sticking his hand out, he introduced himself. “Bruce Wayne.”

“James Barnes.” Bucky said, taking it. Bruce gripped his hand tightly, just to let Bucky know he was tougher than he looked. Bucky took it in stride, curious about why the billionaire didn’t try this with his other, non-metal, hand.

“Seriously, you two?” Felicity said, interrupting their starring contest. “You know that’s his metal arm, right? And you know he’s not challenging you or anything, right?”

The handshake ended and Bruce spoke again to Bucky. “You bring any assassin problems to Gotham and you won’t like what I’ll do. You hurt Felicity or any member of my family, and I’ll kill you.”

“Understood.” Bucky said. He didn’t like being threatened, but he could apprieciate the sentimentality behind it.

Another crash was heard, followed by a boy yelling ‘it was Dick’. Bruce just rolled his eyes and said, “Let’s go eat before I have to replace the entire dining set. Again.”

“Yeah, because that would totally break the bank.” Felicity teased as she opened the door in front of them.

Everyone in the room turned to look and started talking at once. Several voices just yelled ‘Hi Felicity’ or ‘Hi Aunt Felicity’. Three stood out.

“That’s the Winter Soldier?! I was expecting….more.” was said by an unimpressed looking teen Bucky could guess was Jason.

“Hello Aunt Zahara. Al-Jundi.” Was said by a very serious looking kid who couldn’t be older than ten. Bucky knew this boy was Damian. He looked a lot like Bruce, but had Talia’s skin tone and carried himself similar to her.

“Can we eat now?” the boy who opened the door, Tim, said.

A dark-haired girl a little older than Tim didn’t speak, but kept her eyes trained on Bucky. After a few moments, she looked away.

“Sorry we kept you waiting.” Felicity said. “This is Bucky. Bucky, this is Dick, Jason, Tim you already kinda met, Stephanie, Cassandra, and Damian.” She pointed to each person in turn.

“Now that introductions are over, breakfast is served.” Alfred announced.

Everyone sat, and it was quiet for about nine milliseconds before all the kids started talking at once.

“Settle something for us, both of you. It’s weird to bring weapons to the table, right?” Tim said, pointedly looking at Damian.

“It was one knife, Drake. And I missed on purpose.” Damian responded.

“So, how did you two meet? Was it before or after….you know?” Dick asked, trying to make things less weird.

“What does Bucky even stand for?” Stephanie asked.

“So, did you like ‘die’ in the 40s or what?” Jason asked.

“Not ok to ask. None of those things are okay to ask.” Bruce interrupted. “Well, except the Bucky thing.”

“Short for Buchanan, my middle name.” Bucky answered. “We met during my captivity. I’m not gonna answer the dying question or the knife one.” He was a weapon, so he always came to the table armed.

“Yes, because it’s weird.” Tim directed at Damian, who responded by chucking a glob of scrambled eggs at his face.

It hit Tim just below his left eye and he retaliated. Soon, eggs, hash browns, and bits of fruit were flying. In all directions. Cass had managed to weave and dodge out of the way of the food fight, while Bruce sat looking exasperated for about 30 seconds.

“Does this usually happen?” Bucky asked him.

“Twice a week at least, sir.” Alfred answered. “More coffee?”

“No, thank you.” he answered, Felicity declined as well. Eventually Bruce got sick of the food fight and intervened.

“Enough!” He raised his voice slightly. Everyone froze. “Really?”

“What? Felicity’s already survived one family meal with us. And she’s Talia’s sister. This shouldn’t surprise her.”  Jason said.

“How is Mother?” Damian asked.

“She’s doing well.” Felicity answered. “We had dinner earlier this week.”

“She’s in New York?” he asked, his voice a little sad. New York wasn’t far from Gotham and Talia had convinced Bruce to let her visit Damian as often as she could. She could’ve easily stopped by to see him, but judging by his tone, she hadn’t. “Father, did you-?”

“He did not know I was here.” Talia said, entering the room. Secretly, everyone thought she waited until the most dramatic time to appear. “I intended for this visit to be a surprise.”

“Mother!” Damian yelled as he raced over to hug his mother.

“Yeah, sorry. You should’ve told me that.” Felicity said.

“Perhaps.” Talia responded before turning back to Damian. “Hello Habibi. Sorry I couldn’t arrive sooner. I didn’t want to ruin your aunt’s surprise.” She told him as she hugged him. “I would never miss out on an opportunity to see you, my son. In fact, I have the next several days free of commitments.”

Talia was a complicated person. Everything she did had more than one motive, she wasn’t an easy person to read and she seldom let people in. The one thing about Talia that wasn’t complicated was her love for her son. She loved Damian with everything she had. So the idea that she would purposefully give up a chance to see him was unfathomable to her.

“Wait, back up a little bit.” Jason said, interrupting the mother-son moment. “What surprise are you talking about?”

“You haven’t told them?” Talia asked Felicity and Bucky.

“Not yet. We showed up, there was a food fight and then Damian asked about you. I couldn’t really find a way to work it into the conversation.” Felicity answered. She then focused on everyone else. “So, I kinda have news. We’ve having a baby.”

“Yes!” Damian exclaimed. Everyone looked at him. He shrugged. “Soon, I will no longer be the youngest.”

 Everyone chuckled at that, before congratulating Felicity. Brunch turned back into its usual chaos soon after. Felicity and Bucky stayed for a few hours before they had to head back to New York. They said their goodbyes before getting ready to go. As he was about to leave the mansion, Bucky heard a voice speak.

“You are worried about them.” He turned and saw Cassandra standing there. This was the first time he’d heard her speak.

“What do you mean?”

“You worry about Felicity and the baby. She knows, but she doesn’t know how much.”

“No, I don’t think she does.”

“We will not let anything happen.” The girl said with conviction. Everyone’s body language changed slightly when Felicity made her announcement. Cass read each person in turn, and they were all saying the same thing. “Neither will you.”

Bucky didn’t get a chance to reply, as Cassandra turned and walked away.

“You ok?” Felicity asked him.

“Yeah, just….thinking.”

* * *

 

**Playground**

Coulson was reading over Simmons' autopsy reports on the nine dead prisoners. Three were stabbed, one was shot, two had broken necks, and strangest of all, three were killed using some kind of poison.

"Those the autopsies?" May asked.

"Yeah, we got three CODs and we're our only lead's alibi." Coulson said. The second calls started coming in, Coulson knew Felicity had something to do with what happened. It was too convenient otherwise, the three prisons getting attacked the one day all three wardens aren't there.

"She didn't do it. Doesn't mean she didn't know about it."

"Well, we never know what she knows, so yes, it's possible. Not to mention incredibly likely."

"Then we bring her in." May concluded.

"Not sure that's a good idea. Not yet at least. The only concrete proof we have is that all of us just happened to be in a meeting for the exact amount of time it took for all three to be attacked."

"So we find out more. Informally. She talks to Skye pretty often. If the subject came up-"

"Let's not go down that road just yet." SHIELD wouldn't survive the scandal that could ensue if they played it wrong.

* * *

 

**New York**

Some of the Avengers were sitting down to watch the Yankees-Red Sox game when Hill came into the room. "Turn in WHIH"

"The game's about to start."

"Just do it." She argued. Grumbling, Clint did as he was told.

"Where in the world is Grant Ward?" Christine Everhart said as the intro music ended. "That's what many people would like to know. Ward was one of several SHIELD agents revealed to be an operative of Hydra last March. While other Hydra operatives have been arrested, tried and imprisoned, Ward seems to have vanished off the face of the earth. The FBI received evidence earlier today that Ward is in fact alive. Some speculate he's been held, without a trial or formal charges, since the fall of SHIELD. Others claim to have seen him in Markovia last month. Questions are being raised tonight about how-"

Clint changed the channel to the game. "So, there's a manhunt going on for a Hydra operative still at large. What's the problem?"

"The problem is Ward isn't still at large. He's been...detained for some time now. Unofficially."

"So either someone started looking for him or someone found out where he was and wants to get him in the open." Natasha said. 

"And to think, it was starting to get boring around here."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who leaked the truth about Ward?  
> What will SHIELD do?  
> What will happen next?


	59. Chapter 59

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SHIELD really wants to talk to Felicity. Too bad she's not interested.

**New York**

The Avengers were hanging around the top floor of Stark Tower the next morning. Clint and Natasha were debating where to go on vacation, Thor was listening to Steve explain baseball. Bruce and Tony were discussing possible explanations for the results the former got in his last experiment. Coulson, Mack, May and five other SHIELD agents exited the elevator looking tense.

“Where is she?”

“Who?” Tony asked.

“Felicity.”

“Don’t know. She doesn’t live here anymore.” Clint said.

“She doesn’t?” Coulson said in a tight voice.

“Yeah, they wanted a place of their own.”

“Where did they move to?”

“I don’t know. Nearby. They haven’t exactly invited anyone over yet.” Tony replied.

“Why are you looking for her anyway?” Bruce asked, suspicious. The ‘Other Guy’ could feel that something wasn’t quite right.

“We have some…questions we’d like to ask her.”

“You needed seven other people here to ask her questions?” Tony remarked.

“Didn’t she meet with you like three days ago to talk?” Steve asked. “Why didn’t you ask her then?”

“Because certain things hadn’t happened yet, and she hadn’t leaked the story about Grant Ward yet.”

“You think Felicity leaked it?” Natasha asked. “Why?”

“At her meeting with us, she informed me that she knew we had Ward.” Coulson answered. “Everyone else who knew wouldn’t have said anything.”

“Everyone?” Natasha asked skeptically. “So, you’re saying there was no one else there when she told you? That there’s no chance his family could’ve paid someone to find out where he was?”

“His family doesn’t care.” May said.

“About him, maybe. But his brother is up for re-election. And I wouldn’t put it past Christian Ward to use his brother to prove a point.” Tony said. “Besides, if Smoakie was gonna leak the info, why would she tell you she knew it? She’s smarter than that.”

“Even if she didn’t, we still have questions to ask her.”

“About?”

“Suspicious deaths that happened a few days ago.”

“You think Felicity killed them?”

“Killed them? No. But she knew about it. They happened during her meeting with us. When everyone who could’ve stopped them was busy and unreachable. That’s more than a little coincidental.” Coulson said.

“You can’t accuse someone of crime because of a coincidence.” Bruce pointed out.

Coulson didn’t respond, but a few of the agent with him gave ‘agree to disagree’ shrugs before turning to leave. His agents left the building, with two being told to watch the building from across the street. The hope was SHIELD could either find her new address or catch her entering the building in the next few days. Either way, they could question her and the case could be closed.

* * *

 

**Penthouse**

Felicity was woken up from her sleep not by nausea for once, but by the sound of knocking. Bucky shot up in bed and headed for the door. She heard him open the door, and based on the fact there weren’t any gunshots or fighting sounds, whoever was there wasn’t a threat.

“Felicity, you need to get up.” Bucky said in a slightly panicked voice.

“’SHIELD is looking for you.” Sarab said as he walked into their room. “They wish to detain you for questioning.”

“What? Why?”

“They think you had something to do with their prisons being broken into and several of their prisoners dying. Even though, these events took place during your meeting with them.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.” Felicity did have something to do with it, but she was careful to make sure any argument agaisnt her wouldn't stick.

“No, it does not. Regardless, you need to be aware.” Sarab said. “They have no way of knowing you live here.”

“They don’t?”

“No, no one ever filed those forms you signed. As far as the State of New York is concerned, your mailing address is a PO Box and the legal owner of this apartment is Henri Ducard.”

“Who is that?” Bucky asked.

“It’s one of the names Ra’s uses when he can’t let anyone know who he is.” Felicity answered. “Sarab, does Ra’s know what is going on?”

“I believe so.”

“Call him please.”

Felicity went into her closet and pulled out two duffle bags. She handed one to Bucky. “Pack clothes and essentials. Someone from the League will handle the rest. And grab the bug-out bags under the bed and beneath the sink.” They were finishing packing when her cell phone rang.

“Don’t come to the Tower today.” Bruce Banner told her. “Tony and I- our experiment wouldn’t be safe for the baby.” She could tell he was lying to her, but she chose to ignore it anyway.

“Oh, ok. Thanks for the heads up. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Don’t stop by until you hear from me or Tony.” He hung up.

“Coulson’s there, isn’t he?” Bucky asked.

“No, but the building’s probably being watched.” Felicity said.

Things were tense, but quiet for the next few minutes. That is, until Sarab got a call and left the room. When he came back in, he looked concerned.

“The entirety of SHIELD, and parts of other agencies are after you. We need to get both of you out of here.” He explained. “The safehouse in Queens should be adequate.”

Felicity’s phone beeped with a notification and she read it twice before she snapped back to reality. “That’s not an option. There’s a roadblock on all the bridges, they’re searching every car.”

“You think it’s because of you?” Bucky asked.

“If I can’t leave Manhattan, it’s a much smaller search area.” As much as she hated it, the logic made sense. “Amir Fayyad is still in Turtle Bay, right?”

“Yes, he is.” Sarab said, catching on to what she was saying, right before he started dialing the phone. He left the room while he spoke with someone. When he came back in, the assassin looked determined. “Everything’s set. You should start packing. Are you going to leave the dog here or-“

“Already packed. And he’s coming with us.”

“Very well.” Sarab conceded. “A car will be here in 30 minutes.”

The assassin didn’t say anything else, so the couple sat waiting. Felicity didn’t sat where they were going and Bucky saw how intense she was, and didn’t want to ask. Twenty-seven minutes later, Sarab got a call that the car was in the underground garage. Felicity got into the car and gave the driver the address.

* * *

 

**SHIELD Base-Bronx**

Coulson’s team and a select few agents had set-up a command center at the SHIELD base in the Bronx. They were sweeping every camera in the city for a sign of her. The director groaned in frustration as every trick Skye tried came up short.

“She can’t get out of the city. She’s gonna need a place to stay. She might know about the warrant.” Tripp remarked to him. “She’d go somewhere we couldn’t get to her.”

“Sir!” A newer agent yelled. “We have a sighting.”

“Where is she?”

“A man matching Barnes description and a woman matching hers were seen getting into a cab two blocks east of Stark Tower.”

“Check every camera you can find, get me that cab number.” Coulson ordered.

None of the footage clearly showed either person’s face, but it was the only lead SHIELD had, so they followed it. The cab turned out to be a ruse, and when they managed to pull the vehicle over, they found a brunette man and a blonde woman who looked nothing like Felicity or Bucky. SHIELD left in a huff and the two League members posing as the couple laughed their asses off.

* * *

 

**Manhattan**

While SHIELD ran after a cab heading west, Bucky and Felicity made their way east, to the one place in Manhattan SHIELD couldn’t follow. They were ushered into a swanky office and asked to wait.

“Felicity?” Bucky asked as soon as they were seated inside. “Why are we inside some other country's consulate?”

“Because Nanda Parbat is in Bialya.” She answered. “The government never comes out and says it, but they want to keep Ra's and the League happy, however they can. And Zahara al Ghul is a citizen. This is also not US soil, so SHIELD has no authority.”

“So, we’re stuck here for a few days.”

“Not exactly.” Sarab said, entering the room.  He was on the phone. “Your father would like a word.”

_ “Hello?” _

_ “You and your beloved are coming to Nanda Parbat. Tonight.” _

_ “No, we-“ _

_“Zahara, this is not negotiable. As long as you remain in New York, they will not stop.”_ Ra’s said _. “I have respected your need for independence thus far, but you and your child are no longer safe. You will come to Nanda Parbat, even if Sarab has to drag you there.”_

_ “I can’t just- this is my life.” _

_ “I know, but Nanda Parbat is the safest place for you right now. Come home.” _

Felicity hung up and told Bucky and Sarab what Ra’s had said.

“If we’re going to Nanda Parbat, why bring us here?” Bucky asked.

“Because the consulate has a fleet of special, diplomatic vehicles. As long as we’re in that car, we’re not on US soil. It’s illegal for law enforcement to search it, meaning we could drive straight to the airport without anyone stopping us and get on a plane.”

Felicity’s phone rang. “It’s Oliver. Hello?”

“Lyla just called me, said SHIELD is after you. Please tell me you aren’t in New York.”

“Technically, I’m not. I’m gonna be….overseas until further notice. Tell Sara she might wanna take a trip.” Sara was the only member of Team Arrow who knew where Nanda Parbat was. There was a chance SHIELD could go after Sara to find her.

“Fine. I’m not happy, but fine. Call us when you’re safe.” Oliver hung up.

* * *

 

**SHIELD Base-Bronx**

SHIELD was back at square one when they returned to the base. Their lead led nowhere, both Felicity and Bucky’s phones were impossible to trace, and none of the Avengers believed Coulson enough to even consider helping. In fact, Coulson was willing to bet one of them even tipped her off.

“Where are we at?” he asked May.

“Checkpoints and roadblocks are still up. We’re sweeping every camera we can find. She can’t stay hidden forever. When she pops up, we’ll be there.” Tripp said, and Skye nodded.

No, they wouldn’t. Because at that moment, Felicity’s diplomatic convoy was crossing the Brooklyn Bridge without being stopped and making its way to the airport, where one of the League’s planes was waiting to take off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I got the idea for part of this chapter from The Blacklist.  
> Bialya is a fictional country in the DC universe that's somewhere around the Middle East. Since the Ra's al Ghul in this story is Arab, the location makes sense.
> 
> Ok, what do you think will happen next?


	60. Chapter 60

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara calms Team Arrow down, Coulson makes another visit to the Avengers and Bucky sees Nanda Parbat for the first time.

**Starling**

“What did she say?” John asked. while Sara, Roy and Thea looked on in interest.

“She said she’s safe and she’d call when she has more time to talk. They’re heading abroad and it might be a good idea if Sara goes on vacation too.” Oliver explained.

“She’ll be fine.” Sara said.

“How do you-?”

“She’s going to Nanda Parbat. Her family will keep her safe.” Sara explained. "And Barnes certainly isn't gonna let anything happen to her."

"So, what do we do now?" Roy asked. "I mean, I know we should help her or at least try, but how do we do that?"

"We could prove her innocence, but I think she has it handled." Thea said. "I get the feeling she might want us to sit this one out."

* * *

 

**New York**

“Which one of you told her?” Coulson nearly yelled as he got off the elevator of Stark Tower. All of the Avengers were there, except Tony who had an SI commitment that evening.

“What are you talking about?”

“’Felicity. She vanished before I could question her. Someone tipped her off that we were looking. Which one of you was it?”

“I get the feeling she didn’t need to be tipped off.” Hill said. “What? She’s been steps ahead of you for months, she’s inside your systems, is it really that surprising she might’ve known you were after her?”

“No, this situation, it wasn’t on record, it wasn’t in the system. One of you had to tell her.”

“Since when is talking to civilians a black op?” Natasha asked skeptically. She had noticed Bruce looked more nervous than usual, but only slightly.

“She isn’t a civilian, she’s-.”

“What? She’s not an agent, not an asset. So, what does that make her? A threat? Is that what you were gonna say?” Bruce butted in. Even though Felicity was already somewhat connected to SHIELD and the Avengers, she was the easiest person for him to relate to. Like him, she hadn’t asked to be experimented on or become something else. “Because I’d be very careful before I throw around claims like that. Especially in this room.”

Coulson realized this probably wasn’t the best way to deal with the situation. “When one of you calls her, and I know one of you will, tell her we’ll find her. She’s in the city somewhere and she can’t hide forever.” He turned and got onto the elevator.

“No, they won’t. And yeah, she can.” Natasha said as soon as they were sure he was gone.

“What are you talking about?”

“If Felicity or Bucky or anyone who works for her father are half as smart as they’ve shown themselves to be, she’s already out of the city. She’s probably not even in the US anymore.”

“Ms. Romanoff is correct.” JARVIS announced. “I received a message from Ms. Smoak shortly before Director Coulson arrived. I didn’t think it was prudent to show you at the time, given the likelihood of his appearance.”

“Can we hear it now?” Steve asked.

The television changed to another setting and Felicity’s face filled the screen. She took a deep sigh before she started to speak. “Hey, guys. I- I’m gonna assume Coulson is either about to visit you or he already has. So, you know SHIELD is convinced I did something that I didn’t do. I just- I didn’t want you to worry. Bucky and I are fine, we just- I needed to get out of the country, for obvious reasons. We’re heading to- well, let’s just say I’m going somewhere we’ll be safe and SHIELD can’t follow. My hope is that when SHIELD realizes I’m gone, they’ll actually try to solve their case instead of blaming me. I’m sending a similar message to Oliver and Barry.” Felicity but her lip as she tried to figure out what else to say. “Oh, and Bruce? I already knew, but thanks for letting me know. See you all soon, hopefully.” The video ended.

“What did she mean?” Steve asked Bruce.

“I called her, I was trying to get her not to come to the Tower, but I didn’t say why. I told her the experiment Tony and I were doing might be dangerous for the baby. I’m guessing she already knew the real reason.”

“So, you did but you didn’t tip her off.”

* * *

 

**Nanda Parbat**

Nanda Parbat was not what Bucky was expecting. He wasn’t quite sure what he expected the headquarters of an ancient sect of assassins to look like, but it wasn’t this. First, the compound looked much more serene than he anticipated. He figured the home of infamous assassins would give off an air of danger and mystery. The mystery was there, but the aura of danger and death was not. Felicity started to speak, which tore Bucky out of his musings.

“Here it is. Home sweet home or whatever.” From where they were standing, he could see the outline of the compound, but that was it. It was a little before sunset, and the dying sun was painting the sky a beautiful orange hue.

“Is it always this quiet here?” he wondered. For the last few miles, they had walked through a no man’s land until they arrived at a group of mountains where the entrance to Nanda Parbat was located.

“Pretty much. I think the quiet throws normal people off. Makes them reconsider taking another step towards it.” Felicity answered. “Let’s head inside and get our welcome ceremony over with.” She walked forward towards the small crowd of people standing outside the front gate.

“Welcome ceremony?” Bucky asked Sarab.

“Lady Zahara is essentially royalty. Every time a member of the al Ghul family returns after a long time away, the League celebrates their arrival.” The man explained. “If you follow her lead, it will be fine.”

Felicity had stopped about twenty yards away from the crowd and waited for Bucky to catch up with her. He stopped when he was shoulder to shoulder to her and gave her a raised eyebrow. “Take my arm.” Bucky complied. “This is a whole ‘when in Rome’ situation. They’re gonna bow and its gonna feel really awkward. Act like its not abnormal and don’t look directly at anyone. Just keep walking forward.”

Walking arm-in-arm, Felicity and Bucky approached the group. Ra’s, Nyssa and a man Bucky had never met before were standing at the front of the crowd. When they approached Ra’s, Felicity stopped directly in front of the man and curtsied slightly. Ra’s nodded, then turned back towards the compound and began to walk. Felicity and Bucky followed, with Nyssa and the unknown man walking behind them. As soon as Ra’s began walking, the assembled assassins behind him kneeled and stayed kneeling as they passed. After walking what felt like a mile, they finally entered the compound. They followed Ra’s into the family wing of the compound where they could speak in private. Ra’s stopped outside of a door towards the far end of the hallway.

“You will find your quarters have already been prepared. Your belongings and your dog have been brought inside. We will be dining in the Great Hall in a little more than an hour. Someone will arrive shortly to assist you.”

“Thank you but I don’t think that’s necessary.” Felicity said quietly. She didn’t need help bathing or dressing or doing her hair. The implication that she did made her feel like a child.

“Very well.” He said cryptically. Before turning away, he spoke again. “Welcome home, my child.”

Bucky followed Felicity into the room. It was spacious, if a little spartan. It didn’t feel like anyone had lived there in a while. Nugget seemed to be enjoying his explorations.

“So, this is where you lived when you came here.” Bucky said trying to break the tension.

“Yup.” Felicity said as she began searching through drawers. She grabbed a bundle of fabric and tossed it to Bucky. “Put those on.”

“What are they?”

“League appropriate dinner attire. You’re the son-in-law of Ra’s al Ghul, you’ve gotta look the part.” Felicity remarked as she kept sorting through the drawers and later the wardrobe. Bucky was about to ask another question when there was a knock at the door. He went to open it and found a teenage girl standing on the other side.

“Pardon me, my lord.” The girl said not meeting his eyes. “The Demon Head sent me to assist Lady Zahara.”

“Assist her with what?”

“Getting ready for dinner, I assume.” Felicity said from behind him. The girl was shaking slightly and she could tell she was afraid. Of what exactly, Felicity wasn’t sure. “What’s your name, honey?”

“Amira, my lady.” The girl said in a quiet voice.

“A pretty name for a pretty girl.” Felicity said trying to make the girl feel more at ease. “I don’t require any help right now. Could you return in about thirty minutes?” Amira thankfully curtsied and left. “Oh thank god.”

“What was that about?”

“You heard her, Ra’s sent her to help me get ready. I don’t want or need her to help me bathe or get dressed, so I asked her to come back when I’d be doing my hair and stuff. Which he probably knew I’d do.”

“You told him you didn’t need help.”

“Just because I inform him of something doesn’t mean he has to do what I say.” Felicity deadpanned. “This way, we both get what we want. Now, change and help me get into this dress.”

Felicity had finally managed to find a dress she liked and felt comfortable wearing in the wardrobe. It was dark grey with red designs sewn into the bottom. The colors would match nicely with her skin tone and thankfully the back wasn’t open, so most of her scars were hidden.

Bucky changed quickly. He’d been given traditional League robes, although his had a sash that went over his left shoulder, which denoted his status. Felicity’s outfit was a little harder to change into.  The dress was long, it was heavy and the lacing was more than Bucky was used to.

“I…are you sure I’m the best person to do this?”

“You’re the only one here and its not that hard. Make sure the laces are in every hole and then tug.” Felicity said. She hated having to wear clothing like this, but thankfully she only had to dress like this on special occasions and this dress didn’t require an actual corset. Unlike some of the others. She didn’t want to risk wearing one and hurting the baby. “I can ask Amira to fix it later if I need to.”

“How do I know when to stop tugging?”

“I mean, I planned on just saying ‘ok, that’s good’. ” She answered slightly exasperated. Bucky began lacing up the back of the dress as instructed. It didn’t take long for him to properly tighten the dress. They were finished right as Amira returned. She ended up braiding some of Felicity’s hair and creating a half-up hairstyle. The girl left when the pair had roughly ten minutes to make their way to dinner.

Felicity led Bucky at a brisk pace through the compound. “Who was that guy with Ra’s and Nyssa?” Bucky asked.

“Just one of my brothers.” Unfortunately, Dusan was one of the brothers who didn’t like Felicity. At all.

“You have brothers?”

“Yup, but unfortunately most of them aren’t the sharpest crayons in the box.” She answered. “He’ll probably try and start a fight, just don’t let yourself get drawn into it.”

They stopped before a huge set of doors and Felicity took a deep breath. “You look beautiful, by the way.” He told her right before the doors opened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this chapter is a little boring.


	61. Chapter 61

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Dusan is stupid, very stupid, Bucky gets angry and new faces are introduced. Also, Sara makes a pit-stop to see the Avengers.

**Nanda Parbat**

When the doors to the Great Hall opened, every head in the room turned towards the noise. Then, almost in unison, every man, woman and child in the room, except Felicity’s family, stood. After a nudge from Felicity, the couple moved forward until they reached the table where Ra’s was seated. The room was completely silent as Felicity and Bucky took their seats. As soon as they sat, Ra’s stood and began to speak.

“Tonight, we celebrate the return of my youngest daughter Zahara, who has been gone from Nanda Parbat for several months. We also celebrate the news of new life beginning and the extension of the al Ghul family. Let us enjoy, and celebrate this occasion.” Ra’s directed the last part to Felicity before concluding his speech and sitting down.  

“I know the situation is not ideal, but it is nice to have you back, sister.” Nyssa said quietly from next to Felicity. The blonde gave her a tight smile.

“It is a shame your other sister could not be here.” Ra’s sounded half angry and half disappointed.

“I told her not to come.” Felicity admitted. “When I spoke with her, and she told me you wanted her back here, I told her it could wait a few more days.”

_“Why would you tell her that?”_ Ra’s said, switching to Arabic. Felicity never understood why Ra’s would switch to Arabic in certain situations, especially in Nanda Parbat. Where everyone spoke Arabic.

_“She’s visiting Damian at the moment. It’s been some time since she’s seen him. I didn’t want her to have to cut her visit short or lose time with him because of me.”_ The blonde defended. “If you want to be angry at someone, be angry at me.” A snort came from Dusan. “Besides, you didn’t need to do all of this.” she gestured to the room around them.

“It is traditional for the League to celebrate the return of one of its finest warriors.” The Demon Head said. Another snort came from Dusan.

“Finest warriors, that’s funny.” He muttered.

“What was that?” Felicity said, looking directly at her brother.

“Nothing.” he went back to his food. “I just think its funny, how this American outsider, who I had to save from Siberia, is considered one of our best warriors. Her, who didn’t even fight in that battle, is considered a good warrior. I think we all know what you really mean by that. She’s only here because-”

“Lower your voice.” Ra’s said in a deadly tone. “This is not a conversation to be had in public.”

“She fought more people than you did, brother, in that fight.” Nyssa said. “You stood outside and guarded those attempting to flee. It wasn’t much of a battle for you.”

_ “So the whore finally did something useful.” _

The room went completely silent. None of the other assassins had heard what Dusan said, but they knew it was bad from the looks on everyone’s faces. Ra’s face was blank, while Nyssa and Felicity both looked angry and Bucky looked down right murderous. The other two sons suddenly became fascinated by the table.

“What did you just call her?” Bucky bit out as he stared him down. Up until now, Bucky hadn’t said anything the entire time.

The other man, for the first time since Felicity met him, actually looked afraid. A great deal, in fact almost all, of Dusan’s confidence and cockiness came from the fact that he was the son of Ra’s al Ghul. He believed it made him untouchable. Nyssa and Talia were confident too, but they had the skills and achievements to back it up. Dusan suddenly had a ‘deer in headlights’ look.

“What did you just call my wife?” The former assassin asked, even angrier than before. Dusan, unfortunately for him, was close enough to Bucky that the man could harm him without needing to get up from his seat.

“I- She-.”

“Dusan is what many would refer to as a ‘fuckboy’.  He’s never managed to please a woman and has no idea how to speak to one.” Nyssa interjected. “Yet, I thought he had more sense than this. It seems I am mistaken.”

“James, it’s fine.” Felicity said trying to prevent a murder during dinner. She then turned to Dusan. “Dusan’s just drunk, right?” the man stilled and winced before nodding. “And he’s gonna leave now to sleep it off, right?” he nodded again.

Dusan stood up and began to walk away, Bucky reached an arm out and stopped him. _“You ever say something like that about her again, and I will feed you your own intestines.”_ He let go and turned back to Felicity.

“Could I get another fork, please?” The blonde asked one of the servants. “This one has blood on it from when I kinda stabbed it into his leg.” Nyssa and Ra’s both chuckled.

“How are you this calm?”

 “Oh, I’m not. I just hate it when dinner turns into mortal combat. Besides, tomorrow I’m gonna bash his face in. You can help if you want.”

“Angry though I may be at your brother for showing you such disrespect and causing a scene, I cannot allow you to kill him.” Ra’s said. “Dusan is foolish, but he is still my son.”

“I didn’t say I was gonna kill him. I said I was gonna kick his ass.” She replied. “Which is something you’ve not only allowed in the past, but encouraged.”

Dinner was relatively quiet after that. 

* * *

 

**New York**

The Avengers were having a rather ‘blah’ kind of day. Nothing exciting was going on, there hadn’t been anymore surprise visits from Coulson or SHIELD and they all seemed to just be waiting for something to come along.

“How do we help her?” Wanda finally asked. it had been a day since Felicity pulled her disappearing act, and so far, no one else had even mentioned Felicity or Bucky. “Felicity, I mean.”

“We’d need to clear her name.” Clint explained.

“We don’t know how to do that, since we don’t know what SHIELD knows.” Steve said.

“Yet. Give me a sec.” was Tony’s reply. He immediately tasked JARVIS with breaking through their firewall.

“They might not even know anything. It’s possible that they saw two separate events and deciding they’re connected, even though it isn’t logical. I hate to be the one to say it, but SHIELD didn’t always follow logic in the past.”

“Then how do we help her?”

“You could ask Ms. Lance.” JARVIS interrupted. “She’s on her way upstairs as we speak.”

A few moments later, the elevator opened.  Sara studied the group for a few seconds before speaking. “I take it you saw the same video I did.”

“Yeah. How do we help her?”

“You don’t. She’s got it handled.” Sara said. “I just came to tell you that. Before I leave for my extended vacation.”

“Vacation? You’re taking a vacation when your friend is a fugitive?”

“I’m taking a vacation because my friend is a fugitive. I’m one of the few people who knows where she went.” Sara explained. “And Coulson can’t question me if I’m not here. Besides, they’re gonna be fine.”

“How can you know that?”

“You don’t fully know what she’s capable of, what her family is capable of. Not only is she going to be okay, but she’s probably gonna benefit from this whole scenario.”

Not only was SHIELD up against Felicity, they were up against the entire League. Ra’s reputation alone was enough to say this wouldn’t end well for them. On top of that, Talia and Nyssa could be downright ruthless, even if the fight was entirely psychological. Dick said it best when he told Bruce if there was a gameshow called ‘Make This Person Cry (while also wishing they were dead)’ Talia would be the undefeated champion. 

* * *

 

**Nanda Parbat**

The next morning, after Felicity and Bucky got up and had breakfast, they made their way to the training areas. Neither particularly wanted to train, but everyone else seemed to be heading there, and they couldn’t think of anything better to do. They watched for a little while before becoming engrossed in a conversation with Kirigi.

After about half an hour, the room got noticeably tense. Turning around, Bucky and Felicity both knew why. Dusan had arrived, and everyone knew there was a fight waiting to happen. The other man seemed to notice everyone was staring at him.

“Look, I-“

“Don’t. You and I have some things we need to discuss.” Felicity said. “Could we have the room please?” Everyone except Nyssa, Felicity, Bucky and Dusan left.

He started to backpedal, trying to worm his way out of the room before any fists went flying. “Look, I know we haven’t seen eye-to-eye in the past but- SHIT!” came out of Dusan’s mouth. Felicity had punched Dusan right in the mouth.

“You shouldn’t be exerting yourself like that.” Bucky said. “It might not be safe.”

“It’s not like I’m in my third trimester.” She argued back. “Besides, I hit him, not the other way around.”

“Still.” Bucky said before turning back to face Dusan. He looked the man over once, before pulling his arm back and punching him. Dusan was immediately knocked unconscious.

“Well that was…..anticlimactic.” Nyssa said.

“It was a rather impressive hit though.” A voice said from the doorway. Standing there was a giant of a man with muscles to match. Bucky wasn’t a small guy, but this man made him feel both short and scrawny. “Rarely do you see a man capable of rendering his adversaries unconscious with a single swing.”

“Thanks, I think.”

“Bucky, meet Bane, he’s an old friend of Talia’s. Bane, Bucky.” Felicity said. “I thought you were in Santa Prisca.”

“I was. The Demon Head requested I return.” Bane answered.


	62. Chapter 62

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity gets fed up with a lot of people. Also, Coulson definitely went after the wrong woman.

**The Playground**

"We have a situation." May told Coulson as she entered his office.

"What is it?"

"Remember how when Rogers and Romanoff dumped all the Hydra files, a great deal of SHIELD's weren't released? That's why no one asked about Bahrain or Budapest or your recovery from the Battle of New York or Skye." May reminded him. "They all just got dumped. Everything from SSR days up until now."

"Everything?"

"Everything not active. Including the paper trail after we caught Ward. They've already started issuing warrants."

* * *

 

**Nanda Parbat**

“I thought you were in Santa Prisca.” Felicity asked.

“I was. The Demon Head requested I return.” Bane answered. “For a new assignment. He appears to have….concerns.”

“Seriously? I’m pregnant, not dying. Women have been in this same scenario since the literal beginning of human history. Somewhere in the world, every single day, there’s a woman dealing with pregnancy. I’ll be fine!” Felicity was getting real tired of everyone in her life deciding she was some fragile flower who couldn’t take care of herself. She moved to MIT at 17 and practically raised herself before that.

“Ok. Just, calm down.”

“I will not calm down. Everyone seems to think I’m made of glass or something just because there’s a human growing inside of me, I’m not. All I hear anymore is ‘take it easy’, ‘don’t strain yourself’ and ‘let me do that for you’. I can take care of myself and I don’t need everyone treating me like a child. I’m an adult, I’m a trained assassin, and in case you all forgot, I’ve been through a lot worse than a little nausea and back pain.”

“We know that.” Bucky said trying to calm her down.

“Then why does everyone, including you now, insist on treating me like some invalid? I didn’t need you to beat up Dusan for me, I can, and wanted to, do it myself.”

“I know that, I just-“

“Forget it.” Felicity said sighing. “You keep missing the point.”

“But I-“ He didn’t understand what he’d done wrong.

“Let her go.” Nyssa told him. “She needs some time to herself, to collect her thoughts.”

 

“She was displeased that you returned?” Ra’s asked Bane. After Felicity had stormed out, and the others went their separate ways. Bane had been summoned to speak with him. Eventually the topic turned to Felicity and what happened in the training room.

“She believes my new assignment involves her. That combined with what happened with your son moments earlier seemed to enrage her. She mentioned, and I paraphrase somewhat, that everyone insists on treating her like she is incapable of caring for herself.”

Ra’s was about to respond when Dusan came into the room.

“The stray you brought home five years ago is a menace. She-“

“Punched you in the face for a calling her a whore. I am aware.” Ra’s finished for him.

“And Al Jundi-“

“Rendered you unconscious for the same offense. I would call that incredibly fortunate for you. I think you underestimate what he is capable of. He’s one of the people I would do the honor of killing myself, were I so inclined.” The Demon Head spoke again. “I have never forced you to like your siblings, but I thought an expectation of respect was implied. Allow me to make something clear: the sister you so often insult and ridicule has done more for this family in five years than you have. She is not the child of the Demon who needs to prove themselves to anyone.”

 

Bucky heard a repetitive thudding noise as he walked towards his and Felicity’s room. He opened the door to find her sitting on the bed, throwing things at the wall. He turned slightly and saw several knives sticking out of the wall.

“Are you throwing knives?”

“Yes. Is that a problem?” Felicity asked.

“Your aim is getting better.” He remarked, trying not to upset her again.

“I was annoyed. I aim better when I’m pissed at someone.”

“I don’t think you’re an invalid or incapable of taking care of yourself. I’m just- I keep having this dream. We’re back in Siberia, except this time, this time I don’t find you in time. Instead, I find your body and you’re eight months pregnant. Every time I see you fight or do anything strenuous, those images come rushing back to me.”

Felicity threw her head back and sighed in frustration. “It’s not even you I’m mad at. It’s Nyssa and Bane and Ra’s and freaking Sara! All of them are just- ugh!”

“They care.”

“They’re babying me is what it is.”

“You are the daughter of Ra’s al Ghul. You are married to the second deadliest man in history. You are Heir to the Demon and one day, your son will become the Demon Head. We coddle you so that your future and his future are not in jeopardy.” Ra’s said as he entered the room.

“I thought Nyssa was Heir to the Demon.” Felicity said suspiciously. “And there is only one so…”


	63. Chapter 63

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nyssa confronts Felicity, Talia teaches someone a lesson, and an old face appeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long time, no see....I'm sorry

**Nanda Parbat**

“You are the daughter of Ra’s al Ghul. You are married to the second deadliest man in history. You are Heir to the Demon and one day, your son will become the Demon Head. We coddle you so that your future and his future are not in jeopardy.” Ra’s said as he entered the room.

“I thought Nyssa was Heir to the Demon.” Felicity said suspiciously. “And there is only one so…”

“Your sister was Heir to the Demon. Now, she is not.”

“Ignoring how callous of a statement that is, there's just one problem. I don’t want to be Heir to the Demon, and I certainly don’t want my child to be the Demon Head.”

“Why not? It’s an honorable calling.”

“Both of his or her parents were abducted and turned into weapons. Why would we want the same for our child?”

“You mean to leave him defenseless in this world?”

“One, that’s not what I said. Two, we don’t know if I’m even having a boy.” Felicity argued. “No matter how much you might wish it, there’s only a fifty percent chance this baby is a boy.” The blonde didn’t say it, but she was hoping she’d have a girl. “Let Nyssa stay Heir to the Demon. Unlike me, she actually wants it.”

Ra’s could tell his words weren’t getting through to her, so he left. Bucky spent the next hour listening to Felicity rant about how absurd Ra’s revelation was. About fifteen minutes after she ran out of steam, Nyssa came into the room.

“Is it true?”

“Is what true?” She didn’t know what Nyssa might’ve heard or who she heard it from.

“Father has named you Heir to the Demon.”

“I told him I didn’t want it, I’ve never wanted to be Heir and I don’t want my child to be Heir either.” Felicity rushed to say. “You know me. I’ve never wanted to be the Demon Head.”

“That was before everything that has happened this year.”

“Everything that’s happened only makes me want it less.” She answered.  “James and I have had more than enough war and death for one lifetime.”

“But it is-.”

“I don’t care. This isn’t about you or him or anyone else, it’s about me and my child. He can keep saying it’s the will of Ra’s al Ghul until he’s blue in the face, that’s not gonna change my mind.”

* * *

 

**New York**

It turned out, SHIELD didn’t need to track down Talia, she came to them. Some of Coulson’s best agents were sitting in holding cells, but the ones who hadn’t been charged yet were trying to find someone, anyone, who could get a hold of Felicity. The warrants for May and Skye’s arrests were issued half an hour before Bobbi got a call from a blocked number.

“I understand a few of your colleagues are in some hot water.”

“Who is this?” Morse asked.

“Someone who knows why you’re after who you’re after. And someone who can make this whole situation go away. This is the one time I’ll offer my assistance.”

“I don’t even know your name.”

“I have many names. Your director knows me as Talia al Ghul. I’m going to tell you an address, meet me there in an hour. it’s a small Indian restaurant so I’d recommend you not arrive with an entire SWAT team. You’re in enough trouble as is.” She hung up.

 

Sixty-one minutes later, Bobbi, Lance, and three others were in the restaurant, waiting for her to arrive. Bobbi and Lance sat together, while the others were spread throughout the building. The restaurant was a little quiet. There were about two dozen other people there eating. The door opened and Talia walked in. She sat down in front of Bobbi and beckoned for one of the servers to come over.  The pair didn’t ear what she said, but the waiter nodded.

“Straight to business I suppose. It’s a shame, the food here is delicious.”

“Yes, straight to business. Your sister got half our agency burned.”

“Yes, after your director attempted to detain her for a crime she didn’t commit. He had no evidence that she was responsible or even aware of…whatever he was blaming her for. And, after he was warned to leave her alone.”

“She burned us, got dozens of us arrested, because he didn’t listen to a warning?”

“No, our family burned you. I don’t even know if she’s been told about this yet. We may be a group of killers, but we don’t abandon each other.”

“What’s stopping us from bringing you in for this?” Lance asked.

Talia cleared her throat before saying, “ _Rise.”_ Every person in the building, except the five SHIELD agents stood. The waitstaff and bartender all pulled out weapons. “You could certainly try. _At ease._ ” All the assassins sat back down.

“You said you could stop it. How do we stop it?”

“You don’t do anything. Just let the next few weeks’ events unfold uninterrupted. Your agency will be less swamped and at the end of it, your colleagues will be cleared.” Talia stood and left.

“That was useless.” Lance remarked. Bobbi nodded and the agents left. They arrived back at the Playground to find five important-looking people waiting in Coulson’s office.

“What exactly were you thinking when you tried to arrest Felicity Smoak?” one of the men asked as they walked in. “Were any of you thinking?”

“Who the bloody hell are you?” Lance asked.

“The State Department. Those two are DOD. We’re here to clean up your mess.” 

* * *

 

**Nanda Parbat**

There was a knock on the door of Felicity and Bucky’s room. Bucky opened it to see Ra’s standing there. “I must ask both of you to come with me.”

“This kid isn’t gonna be the Demon Head. We’re done talking about it.” Felicity shouted.

“That is not why I wish to speak with both of you.” Ra’s hadn’t given up on the argument, he just decided to shelve it for now. Felicity’s stay was indefinite and he had time on his side.

“Fine.” Felicity said and followed him from the room. They walked through the compound and wound up in Ra’s throne room.

The room was empty. Bucky and Felicity were both about to ask questions when Ra’s ordered one of the guards to bring their ‘guests’ in. Four people were dragged into the room. Two saw Bucky and tried to flee. One stayed where he was with an unimpressed look on his face. The fourth’s reaction was the most surprising. He took one look at Felicity and started pleading.

“I don’t know how you got here or why, but you’ve gotta help me, Ms. Smoak. He’s gonna kill me.” his head nodded towards Ra’s. “I know you hate me, but think of Thea. I’m the only parent she has.”

Felicity was still frozen in shock. No one had seen Malcolm since the Siege. Thea hadn’t heard from him in months. Now, the blonde knew why. The first words out of her mouth were, “you caught him and didn’t think to tell me? I know we’re a secretive family, but still.”  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This work takes me a long time to write, so I'll probably update twice a month, at most, for the next few months.


	64. Chapter 64

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SHIELD is in some big trouble and Malcolm Merlyn hears some surprising news.

**Nanda Parbat**

Felicity was still frozen in shock. No one had seen Malcolm since the Siege. Thea hadn’t heard from him in months. Now, the blonde knew why. The first words out of her mouth were, “You caught him and didn’t think to tell me? I know we’re a secretive family, but still.”

“Wait, family?” One of the other prisoners asked.

“It didn’t seem prudent until now.” Ra’s responded. “Neither you nor your associates in Starling City seemed to care about his fate, so I saw no reason to inform you.”

Malcolm, for the first time since Felicity had met him, looked shocked. He looked between Felicity and Ra’s for several minutes. “You two know each other.”

“Yes, my youngest daughter Zahara is the woman you know as Felicity Smoak. Or is it Felicity Barnes now?”

“It’s still Smoak.” The blonde answered.

“Ra’s al Ghul is your father.” Malcolm said in a disbelieving voice.

“Yup. Can’t you see the resemblance?” Felicity said. “Why is he here? And by that I mean, I thought you would’ve killed him already.”

Felicity wasn’t dumb or naïve when it came to the League. By causing the Undertaking, Malcolm had broken the League’s code. Breaking the code had only one punishment: death. She suspected Ra’s might’ve caught Malcolm in the months since the Siege, and knew if that had happened then Merlyn would definitely be dead by now.

“Oh, he will die. But he does not deserve a quick death or the false hope that someone will rescue him. _Return him to his cell._ ” Ra’s said. “He’s spent some time insisting that there are people looking for him and they will help him escape. It is a fool’s hope, one I refused to allow to continue. No one will come for him.”

_“So, you used me to get your point across. Great.”_ Felicity scoffed.

_“Do you want him free? Do you want him to die still believing he was right? To believe that one random act of violence justifies the deaths of hundreds? He held onto a false hope and I could not allow that.”_ Ra’s said. _“The only way to squash that hope was for him to see that no one was coming to rescue or vouch for him. That those he assumed would help him didn’t even know he was missing. Telling him in this manner was the only way to avoid involving Thea Queen, and you would never forgive me if I brought her here to torment him.”_

“What about these three then?” Felicity gestured to the other prisoners. “Am I here to smash their dreams too?”

“No. By now, you’ve recognized them from Siberia. Two of the men who tortured you and the doctor who experimented on you. I wished to give you a chance to confront your tormentors, and kill them if you so desire.”

“I have nothing to say. I want them dead, but killing them isn’t worth my time.”

One of the two men who tortured her scoffed. **_“It is because she is weak.”_**

**_“It’s because she’s a better human being than a sack of shit like you.”_** Bucky replied.

**_“Actually, its because whatever he will do to you is way worse than anything I could come up with.”_** Felicity said gesturing to Ra’s. “You want to kill them, go right ahead. I need to talk to the ‘good doctor’ though.” Felicity said, turning to face Dr. List with a sinister smile on her face. “With Modric dead, he’s the only one who knows why Hydra tried to kidnap me in New York.”

“Ta-Er Al-Safher’s suspicion was correct. He admitted their intentions the day after the attack happened.” Ra’s told her. “That is why I sent Sarab to Starling.” List had flat out told Ra’s that he suspected the effects of the serum could be passed down genetically. Hydra wouldn’t pass up an opportunity like that. Even if Felicity’s children weren’t enhanced, they’d still have one supersoldier they could mold into a weapon, her.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It was an abstract threat at the time and the attempt was unsuccessful. There are now measures in place to prevent the same thing from happening. When you told me your news, I hadn’t figured out how to inform you of his confession.”

“I take it congratulations are in order then.” List said. “What wonderful news. When I escape, I shall inform my remaining colleagues. They’ll be very interested to hear that the Soldat and you have-”

List was cut off when Felicity rushed over to him and pulled him up by the throat. “You’re never going to escape. You’re going to die here, and you’re going to die very badly. All of you are. You should’ve left me alone.” She turned and walked back over to Ra’s and Bucky. “I know you’ve got some big, dramatic plans for everyone here, but can you kill him soon please?”

“Consider it done.” Ra’s said. He barked out a few orders in Arabic and a few guards took them back to the dungeon. The prisoners yelled threats at Felicity and Bucky while they were being led away. "Bring in the next group."

"Yeah, nope. That's my cue to leave. Baby Smoak-Barnes doesn't like bloodshed." Felicity said as she turned to go. "And I promised Nyssa we'd talk today. Enjoy your doing what it is you do." 

 

"Why are you so certain there will be blood?"

"Past experience." She answered. The blonde paused and thought over the consequences of what she was about to say. "I'm hungry, I feel weird and fresh air is good for the baby. Those are all reasons for me to be not in this room." 

"What do you mean, you feel weird?" Bucky and Ra's both asked concerned. The blonde almost regretted saying that. 

"I mean I just feel different from the last few days. i might be dehydrated. It might be stress or something. I'm gonna eat and then I'm gonna go take a walk or something." She answered. "I'll be fine, especially since Nyssa's coming with me and everyone in this compound is terrified of the two of you."

"I'm going with you where?" Nyssa asked, having just entered the room with Sara.

"C'mon. I'll explain on the way. Sara can come too." Felicity took both their arms and led them outside. Bucky and Ra's exchanged looks before Bucky went to follow after them.

* * *

 

**New York**

“How does this involve the Department of Defense or the Department of State?” Bobbi asked.

“Well, for one thing SHIELD is a DOD agency. When you look bad, it makes all of us look bad. For another, I have all of SHIELD trying to arrest Ms. Smoak, while every other federal agency she’s consulted with has given the DOJ more than enough evidence of her innocence. For a third, the recently leaked data, regardless of who’s responsible, is a security risk not only to SHIELD but the entire Department since this base has a direct line to the Pentagon.” One of the DOD workers said.

“We’re here to plug the leak.” The other one said.

“And the State Department?”

“Let’s see. You have a number of prisoners in your custody who aren’t US citizens and should’ve be sent to their home countries for trial. Others of whom committed crimes on foreign soil and those nations are demanding they be extradited.”

“Sorry I’m late.” Someone said running into the room. “Megan Folwer, DOJ.” She introduced herself. “You also have a number of prisoners who’s fifth, sixth and eighth amendments rights have been violated.”

“What do you-?”

“Most haven’t had trials. None have been to a bail hearing of any kind. Some were arrested without a warrant. To my knowledge, none of your current prisoners have attorneys. Not to mention several were interviewed without having their Miranda rights read to them and a number were killed under your watch. Someone in your agency cited national security as a reason to circumvent those basic rights, but that excuse only stretches so far. You cannot hold someone in perpetuity.” Fowler explained. “As we speak, all of your prisoners are being taken to federal, on-the-books, detention facilities while we sort this out. These gentlemen behind me are here for Mr. Ward.”

“You can’t take Ward.” Coulson spoke up and said.

“Why not?”

None of the agents had an answer for that. They couldn't do anything except watch as a smug-looking Grant Ward being led out of the building by armed agents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, Ra's decided to play some mind games with Malcolm. He also wanted to give Felicity the chance to kill the other three herself. If it isn't obvious, Ra's isn't super great at comforting people, so 'here, kill these people who tortured you' isn't that bad of a attempt. Dr. List and the two unnamed guards will not appear alive again in this story.
> 
> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
> 
> Next chapter: Roughly 6/5


	65. Chapter 65

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity and Nyssa talk, SHIELD suffers a loss and Talia's plans are coming together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer-The government office I mention later in this chapter is one I completely made up. I'm sure there's a department that fulfills this purpose in reality, but I couldn't find the name of it.

**Nanda Parbat**

Felicity led Nyssa and Sara through the compound and into the garden. As they entered the area, the blonde turned to face them.

“Did either of you know Malcolm Merlyn is here?” Sara looked surprised, Nyssa didn’t. “You couldn’t have given me a heads up?”

“I thought Father had informed you. I couldn’t see why he wouldn’t.”

“Me neither, yet he did. Seeing the look of surprise on Merlyn’s face was amusing though. For a moment, he probably thought he was being rescued.” Felicity said. she cleared her throat. “Anyway, I think you and I should talk, Nyssa.”

“Why are we having this conversation here?”

“A few reasons. I wanted some fresh air. There are fewer people eavesdropping. I needed a break from Ra’s and Bucky’s hovering. You name it.”

“They’re still being overprotective?” Sara asked.

“Oh, its gotten way worse. One insists on doing everything for me, the other wants to lock me away in my room until I give birth. Oh, and Father took all of my knives, even the hidden ones, from my room. What, did he think I was gonna start stabbing myself with them? I know how to handle weapons.” She ranted. “I know you followed us. You can come out now!”

“Who are yo-?”

“I didn’t ‘follow’ you, I just- ok, I followed you. I worry, okay? It’s stupid and irrational and paranoid but I’m worried about you and the baby. I’ve never gone through this before.”

“Ugh! How am I supposed to stay mad at you when you say stuff like that?” Felicity responded. “Go over there so I can talk to Nyssa alone.”

“But Sara-“

“Go.” She insisted. Bucky slumped his shoulders and moved away. Felicity then turned to Nyssa. “How are you doing, after yesterday?”

“Better. It was….disconcerting to find out how easily Father was willing to replace me. I cannot hold that against you however.”

“Like I tell everyone, he’s better with weapons than he is with people. I’m hoping he eventually sees my point. The League should be led by someone who wants to be Demon Head, not someone he feels should want it.”

Nyssa was going to respond when another person entered the garden. “Lady Zahara?”

“Yeah?” Felicity said, wondering what was going on.

“Amara said she can see you now.”

“Oh, yay. Come on, Bucky.” She took his arm and dragged him away.

“Who’s Amara?”

“Nanda Parbat’s resident midwife.”

“Why are we going to see her? is the baby okay? Is something wrong?” Bucky asked.

“What? No. We’re going to see her because I need a check-up. Caitlin said we need to err on the side of caution, so I asked if she could look me over sometime today. We might also be able to find out if we’re having a boy or a girl.”

“Oh. You’re sure you’re okay?”

“Yes! Like I keep telling everyone, I’m fine.”

Felicity’s appointment went well. Her blood pressure was a little high, but otherwise she was in good shape. It was a little too early to determine the baby’s sex, yet Bucky insisted it was a girl. For the next few days, everyone seemed to avoid coddling Felicity or mentioning Ra’s trying replace Nyssa. The compound was oddly peaceful. 

* * *

 

**Washington, DC-Three Days Later**

Grant Ward had a smug look on his face as he stood in the courtroom. Thanks to no one at SHIELD formally charging him with any crime, the government had almost no chance of convincing a judge or grand jury to bring charges against him. He’d most likely get off scott-free for everything.

“Can the prosecution produce one piece of evidence linking Mr. Ward to a crime that does not originate from within SHIELD?” the judge asked.

“At the present moment, no we cannot.” The US attorney answered. “We’re requesting an extension to locate evidence that hasn’t been tampered with.”

“Objection.” Ward’s attorney said. “My client is the victim of a witch-hunt and has already undergone enough emotional distress. The prosecution has no evidence to support these charges and the agency that brought them broke numerous laws in detaining my client. Your Honor, let’s not fool ourselves. SHIELD has not, and cannot, prove my client has committed a crime. The fact we’re even having a hearing about this is ridiculous.”

“Sustained.” The judge responded. “The prosecution hasn’t displayed adequate evidence to support charging Mr. Ward with the charges they’re seeking. Until such time you can support these charges, we cannot detain him. Mr. Ward, you’re free to go.”

Ward turned to smirk at the few SHIELD agents that were there. Before his lawyer could lead him out of the room, however, a group of people entered.

“This is the grand jury hearing for the United States vs. Grant Ward?” One of them asked.

“It was.”

“Has the court decided on an indictment?”

“The prosecution was unable to produce sufficient evidence for one.” Ward’s lawyer answered.

“Well then, Mr. Ward, I’m afraid you’ll need to come with us.”

“Why?” he asked.

“Because while the United States government has neglected to indict you, other countries have not. You, and a handful of others, are being extradited.”

“I’m a US citizen, you can’t do that.”

“Actually, they can.” Another person with the group, a dark-haired woman with a slight accent said. “You committed a number of crimes, in service of Hydra, on foreign soil. In accordance with a several international statutes, you’ll be sent there to face trial. Gentlemen, if you would?”

Two of the men stepped forward to arrest Ward and lead him from the room. Ward’s lawyer followed after them and most of the court room emptied. Bobbi turned to the other SHIELD agents on the way out.

“Do you think that’s why she meant about ‘letting things unfold uninterrupted’?”

“Probably.” Lance said shrugging. 

* * *

 

**State Department-Office of International Extradition**

Ward hadn’t stopped yelling since he’d been taken from the courtroom. He kept repeating how they ‘couldn’t do this to him’ and things like that. None of the guards or agents deigned to respond. Eventually, he realized yelling wasn’t working, so he calmed down slightly and tried just talking to one of the agents.

Nearly every Hydra agent Ward had given up to SHIELD was also in the room, yelling similar things. The agents were splitting the prisoners into groups, though Ward couldn't figure out what they had in common.

“Where are we going?”

“Not sure. It depends on which countries filed petitions to extradite you. For some of you, it’s France. Others it’s Belarus or Sokovia. Laos, Bialya, Pakistan, Mongolia, I could keep going, but I think you get the point.” The man answered, not looking up from his paperwork. “Now, who are you?”

 “Grant Ward.”

“Ward….Ward…ah, here it is. Ward, Grant.” He read the form. “Oh.”

“What do you mean ‘oh’?”

“Nothing." he then turned to one of the other agents. "With Agent Nagi. Next!” 

* * *

 

**Nanda Parbat**

Felicity was in the middle of watching new League members spar when Sarab came into the training room.

“You can tell him I meant what I said about not fighting. He doesn’t need to send you to watch me.” the blonde told him without turning around.

“To which ‘him’ are you referring?” Sarab responded. Felicity gave him a blank look. “I was not sent to watch you, I was sent to find you. Lady Talia has returned to Nanda Parbat. The Demon Head requests your presence.”

"Oh, this oughta be good." Felicity said to herself as she got up and followed Sarab out of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	66. Chapter 66

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Talia is back in Nanda Parbat and she didn't come alone. Also, pissing off a pregnant assassin isn't the best idea.

**Nanda Parbat**

As Felicity made her way back to Ra’s throne room, she realized how empty the compound seemed to be. Other than Sarab, she didn’t see a single soul from when she left the training room until she got to the throne room. It was rare, and disconcerting to her, for that to happen.

“What am I going to find on the other side of this door?” She asked Sarab before the man could open it. She’d spent the last few days avoiding Ra’s, so she couldn’t be sure what he wanted or what mood he might be in.

“Your father and sisters. Your husband. And a friend of a friend.” He responded vaguely.

The blonde rolled her eyes and pushed the door open. About a dozen people in chains were on their knees in front of Ra’s. Most of the League was in the room, eyeing the prisoners with disdain. Ra’s stood there looking triumphant and both Nyssa and Talia looked bored. Bucky was off to the side, trying to appear calm. When the door creaked open, every assassin turned their gazes towards the sound before focusing back on their ‘guests’. Felicity slowly made her way around the crowd over to her family.

While she was walking, the deafening silence became too much for one of the prisoners. He stood up and started to speak. “I don’t know who you all think you are, but-“

Bane’s giant hand fell to the man’s shoulder and pushed him back onto the floor.

“You will speak if and when I address you.” Ra’s said. “Or you will find yourself unable to speak at all, Mr. Caldera.” The man’s eyes widened slightly in surprise. “Yes, we are aware of who you are.”

Caldera’s eyes went back to normal and he resumed his ‘tough guy’ pose.

Talia snorted at the man’s continued posturing. “Do you know what I find truly inexplicable, sister?”

“No, what would it be?” Nyssa responded.

“Every time I encounter men like these, they think they will get out of the situation unscathed.”

“Yes, it is rather incomprehensible, isn’t it?”

“Take them away. And give Agent Nagi my thanks.” Ra’s said. The prisoners were led away, a few of them yelling in protest as they were.

“Talia, you’re back.” Felicity said after most of the League left. “And you brought home a bunch of cockroaches.”

“Do not refer to them as such, Zahara.” Ra’s said. “It is offensive to cockroaches.”

“Yes, things took longer than I anticipated but our plan has worked as expected.” Talia remarked.

“Wait, what plan?”

“After you fled New York, I released some of the files the League acquired from SHIELD’s servers. A number of agents were arrested, and the agency was put under additional scrutiny. It turns out most of SHIELD’s prisoners hadn’t had trials and were being unlawfully detained. We were then able to bring a large number of the Hydra operatives they had arrested here.” Talia explained. “We could’ve done so during our attack on SHIELD’s prisons, but a message needed to be sent.”

“You…you did that for me?”

“No one comes after our family without consequences.” She responded. “Now, how are you doing?”

“Good, morning sickness has kinda started to lessen.” Felicity responded.

“And the little one?”

“Fine. I’ve been craving avocados lately, so I think this kid’s gonna be a guacamole snob. Not sure if it’s a boy or a girl yet. Oh and these two are driving me crazy.” She pointed to Ra’s and Bucky.

“Being overprotective?” she asked knowingly.

“Yes, and it’s stressing me out.”

“I am not being overprotective. I am trying to keep my daughter safe. The same daughter who less than three months ago was targeted by Hydra. It is not paranoia if there is a credible threat.” The Demon Head argued.

Bucky didn’t try to argue. He knew he was being overprotective. He wasn’t going to apologize for it though.

“Same thing.” The blonde responded. She grabbed Talia’s arm. “Come on, there’s something I gotta talk to you about.”

“What sort of something?” She asked as she walked away with Felicity.

“I need to vent about the kinda sucky parts of pregnancy to someone who gets it. Nyssa’s the only other person who doesn’t freak out and think something’s wrong when I complain.”

“Fair enough.” Talia said. “I have a gift for you, from Damian. It’s for the baby.”

“Really?” she started to tear up. “He didn’t have to get me anything. That’s so sweet of him.”

“Zahara, its just a teddy bear he thought the child might like. Please stop crying.” The brunette said.

“It’s hormones, okay? I can’t stop them. And I just- I’m really hungry now.” She turned and started heading towards the kitchens. “I wonder if there’s any apples.”

“Apples? You hate apples.”

“The baby seems to like them so…. And I don’t hate them, they just- not my favorite.” Felicity defended. 

* * *

 

**Dungeon**

When the Hydra agents were left in the dungeon, a few of them shouted after the assassins as they walked away. There were others down there with them, but they were too engrossed in yelling to take in their surroundings.

“Yelling does nothing.” A voice said from behind the group. “They’ll come back when they’re sent down here and they won’t tell you anything they haven’t already.”

“Who are-?”

“You’re Malcolm Merlyn.” One of them said. “I thought you were dead.”

Malcolm held his arms out as wide as he could with his shackles. “I’m taking the long way to get there.”

“Where are we?”

“The worst place on earth. You must’ve pissed someone off really badly to end up here.” Malcolm said. “What did you do?”

“We joined Hydra, trying to create a better world. And that’s branded us as liars, killers and terrorists.” Ward answered. “We aren’t. We’re patriots.”

Malcolm started laughing hysterically. “I don’t know what’s sadder. How much they had to twist words to come up with something like that or the fact that you idiots all seem to believe it. Besides, if this was just about you being Hydra, they wouldn’t have let SHIELD take any of you alive, Mr. Ward.”

“Says the man who caused an earthquake and killed 500 people.” One of the other Hydra members said.

“Yeah, I did that. I didn’t pretend I was doing it to make the world a better place though. It was revenge, pure and simple. Your cause, well that was just hatred and authoritarianism.”

They heard the door at the end of the hall, that led out of the dungeon, open. A lone, hooded figured walked towards their cell. They stopped about five feet away and started talking to a guard. From this distance, the Hydra agents realized the person was a woman.

“Excuse me, ma’am-“ one of the agents started to say.

“I wouldn’t.” Merlyn said, knowing they would ignore him. Based on the height, he figured it was one of two women: Sara or Felicity. A confrontation with either wouldn’t end well for the Hydra agents. It would be amusing for him to watch at least.

“Why not?” the same agent remarked. He then yelled. “I said, excuse me! I’m talking to you. Do this bitch’s ears not work?”

The woman said something to the guard who opened the cell, pulled the man out and relocked the door. Before he could ask anything, she pulled out a knife and held it to his throat. “What?”

“Umm…I…well.”

“What? Nothing to say now? All right then.” She slit his throat and his body fell to the floor. Two guards went to remove the body but she stopped them. _“Leave him. Unless the Demon Head says otherwise, he can serve as a reminder.”_

_“Yes, my lady.”_ She turned and left.

“Ok, who was that?” Another Hydra person asked Malcolm.

“A woman who doesn’t like being called a bitch to her face by a bunch of Nazis.” He scoffed. He wasn’t sure, until now, that Felicity had it in her to kill someone. 

* * *

 

**Felicity’s Room**

An hour or so later, Felicity was in her room, playing with Nugget when there was a knock on the door. She yelled for whoever it was to come in and soon found Ra’s in front of her with a slightly disappointed look on his face.

“Would you care to explain what happened in the dungeon earlier?”

“Uh, hormones?” She said. Ra’s raised an eyebrow, so she sighed and explained. “One of the Hydra assholes tried to get my attention. I ignored him, so he thought yelling at me and calling me a bitch would work better. That made me angry, so I told one of the guards to pull him out of his cell and I slit his throat.”

“And told the guards to leave him there.”

“I was still a little pissed. I also wanted to send a message.”

“Why were you in the dungeon in the first place?” Ra’s asked.

“I needed to talk to Malaq about something.” She responded. “What are you really mad about? That I killed one of them or that I went down there without your permission?”

“That you went down there unaccompanied.” He said. “If you are going to continue to act this recklessly, I cannot allow you to wander the compound alone any longer.”

“What do you mean, I’m acting recklessly?”

“When you told the guard to open the cell door, a number of things could have happened. A number of which would have seriously caused harm to you and your child. He could have attacked you. The others could have rushed the guard and escaped. Or when you pulled your knife out, he could have disarmed you.”

She didn’t want to admit it, but Ra’s was right about things that could’ve happened. “So what? Now Bane gets to follow me around 24/7?”

“No, he has other responsibilities. Sarab had volunteered. He did a satisfactory job in Starling so I assigned it to him. And it will not be every moment of every day, just when you are not in your room, or with your sisters, Al Jundi or myself.”

“Great.” She remarked sarcastically.

Ra’s didn’t say anything else and left the room. Right after he left, Bucky stormed in wanting the same answers Ra’s had. They ended up having an almost identical conversation as she and Ra’s had. Eventually, Bucky left because he needed to take his frustration out on something.

“You aren’t mad at me too, are you?” She asked Nugget, who had laid his head on her lap when she and Bucky started fighting. She scratched behind his ears. “Yeah, I knew you wouldn’t be.”

 

Sometime later, Bucky came back into the room. Neither spoke for several minutes.

“I didn’t go down there planning on doing that. I never wanted to see any of those assholes ever again.” She eventually said. “I didn’t even know that’s where Malaq was until Kirigi told me.”

“You could’ve asked to talk to him later.”

“I didn’t think of that, okay? I just needed to talk to him about one thing. It seemed stupid to put it off.” She rebutted.

“So was doing what you did.” Bucky remarked.

“You don’t think I know that? That even after you, and Ra’s, and Bane and six other people asked me what the frack I was thinking, I still haven’t realized it?” She said.

“I know that you realize it. I don’t think you realize how worried everyone is about you. If anything had happened to you down there, I would’ve lost my mind. Or just slaughtered everyone. Your dad and siblings? They would’ve done the same. You’re one of the few good things that’s happened to any of us. The thought of losing you, it’s terrifying.’

“I’m not that easy to get rid of.” She said. She then got a weird expression on her face. “Oh.”

“Oh. Oh what? Good ‘oh’, bad ‘oh’, what is it?” Bucky said, immediately panicking.

“I think- nope. I need food. Now. And I’m really dizzy.” She sat back down on the couch. “Are you gonna stand there or what?”

Bucky raced over to the doorway, yanked the door open and started barking out orders in Arabic. Felicity could hear several people running before he closed it.

“I’m just- I’m gonna close my eyes for a little bit.” She said before passing out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know. Cliffhanger, I suck.
> 
> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	67. Chapter 67

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some stuff happens with SHIELD, Felicity gets to vent a little, and there are a few brief cameos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The beginning part, with SHIELD, is a little tacked on, I know.  
> Also, I don't know if I actually said it or if it's obvious, but Sarab is Maseo, just like on Arrow.

**The Playground**

Phil Coulson had a disbelieving look on his face as May, Skye and the other agents who’d been arrested explained what had happened earlier that day.

“They just released you?”

“Yeah, all the evidence they had against us, the records, it all disappeared at midnight, so they had to release us.” Skye said.

“Whats the damage on our end?” May asked.

“We’re under eight different types of scrutiny and several prisoners were extradited a few days ago. Others are in federal custody.”

“Ward?”

“One of the ones extradited. We aren’t cleared to know where.” Bobbi answered.

“Where are we on the attack at the prisons?”

“Nowhere.”

“That is not strictly speaking true.” A DOD employee said from the doorway. “All three sites were accessed using the same code, belonging to a dead ARGUS agent named Maseo Yamashiro. NSA found the code up for sale on the dark web two months ago. We were under the impression his codes had been wiped from every system and didn’t try to stop or intercept the sale. We traced the signals back and found the buyer dead. He sold the code to someone who killed him to make the trail go cold.”

“How does Felicity fit into this?”

“She doesn’t, she had nothing to do with it.” Megan Fowler said, entering the room with another woman.

“Hello, I’m Laurel Lance.” She handed Coulson a piece of paper, followed by several others. “Consider yourselves served.”

“With what?”

“Restraining orders for harassment. Director Coulson, Agents May, Morse, Mackenzie, Tripplet, Koenig, Hunter, Fitz and Simmons are not to contact or be within 1000 feet of Felicity Smoak. All traces of her coding and programs have been removed from your systems as well. Have a nice day.” Laurel turned and left.

“Is this for real?” Bobbi asked.

“Yes. Judge Brackett signed them yesterday.” Fowler said.

“Brackett’s a Washington state judge.”

“Judge John Brackett, not Judge David Brackett.” She explained. “Even if it was the younger Brackett, the order would still be valid.”

“How’d she talk a federal judge into granting a protection order?”

“I don’t know all the details. Her friend’s testimonies probably had something to do with it.” Fowler said.  

When the head of a federal agency, a police captain, three Avengers, a decorated veteran, both Queen siblings and Bruce Wayne all testified that SHIELD’s actions towards Felicity bordered on harassment, that carried a lot of weight.

* * *

 

**Nanda Parbat**

Felicity got a weird look on her face. “Oh.”

“Oh. Oh what? Good ‘oh’, bad ‘oh’, what is it?” Bucky said, immediately panicking.

“I think- nope. I need food. Now. And I’m really dizzy.” She sat back down on the couch. “Are you gonna stand there or what?”

Bucky raced over to the doorway, yanked the door open and started barking out orders in Arabic. Felicity could hear several people running before he closed it.

“I’m just- I’m gonna close my eyes for a little bit.” She said before passing out. Nugget immediately started barking, so Bucky rushed over to where they were.

“Felicity? Felicity!” he said, lightly shaking her shoulder. “Come on, baby, I need you to wake up.” There was an urgent knock on the door. “Stop wasting time and get your ass in here!” He yelled.

An unimpressed looking Talia came into the room, followed by Amara and another woman Bucky didn’t know. “What happened?”

“I don’t know, she said she was dizzy, needed food and just passed out.” Bucky said. “Is she okay? Is the baby-?”

“We cannot answer that yet. I need to check her over first.” Amara answered, trying to calm him down. “Fatima, my bag.”

“Let’s allow the experts to work.” Talia said, trying to pull Bucky away.

“I’m not leaving.”

“You don’t need to leave. But you are in their way at the moment, so let’s give them some room.” She reasoned. “The easier they can work, the sooner they can give you answers.”

He couldn’t argue with that logic and sat down on a couch next to Nugget about six feet away from Amara and Fatima. It was quiet for a few minutes, then the door opened again.

“What news?” Ra’s asked coming into the room.

“We do not know why Lady Zahara collapsed yet and are trying to wake her up. Did she trip or fall in anyway?”

“No. She started feeling dizzy so she sat down. I sent someone to find you and she passed out. She didn’t fall.”

“What happened before that?” Ra’s asked angrily. He liked Bucky, but if he had anything to do with Felicity passing out, they’d be having a conversation about it.

“We were arguing about what happened earlier in the dungeon. I tried to explain why we are all worried about her and she started to feel strangely.” Bucky explained. “She told me she needed food and that I should get help.”

“When was the last time she ate?” Amara asked.

“It was- I don’t know. I know she ate lunch, but that would’ve been hours ago. She should’ve eaten since then.” He answered.

“She most likely lost consciousness due to low blood sugar.” Fatima said. She pulled a small device out of Amara’s bag. Bucky watched as she pricked Felicity’s finger and drew some blood.

“What is that? What are you doing?” he asked.

“I’m checking to see where her blood sugar levels are. It will tell us if this was a result of  low blood sugar.” Fatima answered. The device beeped and she took a look. “That is very low.”

Amara heard that and looked the device. She immediately went into her bag and pulled a jar out. Opening the jar, she held in under Felicity’s nose. The blonde woke and sat up a few seconds later. “What- who- what happened?”

“Eat this.” Talia said, handing her a candy bar. “When was the last time you ate?”

“Lunch.”

“That was four hours ago. You have an enhanced metabolism and you’re currently pregnant. You need to eat more frequently than that.” She said. “You passed out on Al-Jundi and nearly gave him a heart attack.”

“Is the baby okay?” Felicity asked.

“Yes.” Amara told her. “The baby is fine.”

“You two may go.” Ra’s said. Amara and Fatima both curtsied and left. “Your child was not harmed, but you must take better care of yourself. This easily could have been avoided if you paid more attention to your body.”

“I don’t take care of myself? I don’t take care of myself?! Has it ever occurred to you that I’m trying the best I can but you aren’t making things any easier?”

“Perhaps, this conversation can-.” Bucky started.

“No, we’re having it now. I don’t exactly have a guidebook for this. There are only three people in existence with a physiology like mine. None of the other have been pregnant, so I have to figure this out as I go. On top of that, every time I eat something you or him or someone else feels the need to tell me if they think I should be eating that. It’s incredibly frustrating to have everyone second guess everything I eat every single day. That’s stressful.”

“What would you have me do? Not express concern about your wellbeing?”

“No, just- tone it down a little bit, I guess. I’m a smart woman, and I read a bunch of books on pregnancy. I know what I can and can’t eat. Trust me enough to know how to eat properly.” Felicity said. “And please stop making me see Hydra people the League catches.”

“Why? You had no problems knowing of our prisoners before.” Ra’s asked.

“Because its stressful coming face-to-face with people who tortured and experimented on me. Especially in a place where I feel safe. I know they’re prisoners, but they’re still here. Knowing they’re here makes it hard for me sleep.”

“You haven’t been sleeping?”

“I- you don’t get it. He might or might not, I don’t know.” She said gesturing to Bucky. “I remember everything they did to me, the smug looks on their faces as I screamed in pain, all of it. It’s only been three months. I’ve had nightmares about them since they took me, but now they’re close to me. My nightmares now are about them breaking out and taking me again, or trying to cut the baby out. It’s terrifying.”

Ra’s didn’t respond but left the room. Ten minutes later, he and Nyssa came in.

“I am glad you seem to be doing better, sister. I brought you some of lamb kabobs from the village as an apology. Sorry I was not here earlier.”

“Yum, gimme. Apology not needed but totally accepted.” Felicity said as she made grabbing motions towards the bag. “It’s ok. The only thing you missed was Father and I getting into an argument. You’ve seen that before, so you didn’t miss much.”

“Are you feeling better though?”

“Yeah, I just needed a snack.” She shrugged. “And the argument let me get some stuff off my chest.”

“Speaking of which, you no longer need to be concerned over our guests.” Ra’s said.

“You killed them?”

“No, I did not. Bane, Sarab and Kirigi killed them. Or rather, are killing them as we speak.” Ra’s said. “You made a valid argument, Nanda Parbat is your home. You are meant to feel safe here.” 

* * *

 

**Dungeon**

Following their acquaintance’s death, the Hydra members sharing a cell with Malcolm sat in silence. They didn’t understand what had happened, or why. Malcolm wasn’t answering any of their questions either. When they asked him why he wouldn’t answer their questions, he simply told them that they’d ‘figure it out soon enough’.  Malcolm was enjoying this somewhat. He knew the Demon Head and knew that he held a particular contempt for Hydra and any organization like it.

Several hours after Felicity had killed the Hydra agent, three men came into the dungeon. They each walked into different cells. Minutes later, the noises started. Two fights and a man’s screams could be heard. Several minutes later, Kirigi exited one cell, wiping blood off of a knife. The noises from that room had stopped. He left the dungeon. Sarab then came out of the second cell, and its occupant was silent as well. Instead of leaving, he went into the third, and last cell, where Dr. List was screaming.

“Nothing?” Sarab asked.

“Nothing I find satisfactory.” Bane answered. “Perhaps I should start breaking bones.”

“Perhaps.” The other man agreed.

A definitive ‘SNAP’ and a howl of pain followed. The sound woke up the few Hydra members who’d managed to fall back asleep.

“What’s going on?” Ward asked Malcolm.

“Well, clearly they’re killing whoever’s in that cell very slowly and painfully.” Malcolm answered. “It probably has something to do with-.”

“Silence!” One of the guards yelled.

Fifteen minutes later, the screaming stopped. Bane and Sarab both exited the third cell, and Bane was holding a box.

“I do not think she will want that.” Sarab told him. “She is not the kind to appreciate the decapitated heads of her enemies.”

“Perhaps she won’t. In either case, it’s proof of death.” Bane responded.

Despite what had happened earlier, a few Hydra operatives decided to start yelling questions at Sarab and Bane.

“Who are you people?”

“What did you do to him?”

“What kind of prison is this?”

Sarab kept walking, but Bane stopped in his tracks to face the prisoners. “We are those who serve true justice. Which is what I delivered onto your fallen comrade. And what awaits you all. You were brought here to die, that’s what kind of prison this is. And make no mistake, here is where you will die.”

“You can’t just sentence us to death.” Ward argued. “We’re American citizens. We’re entitled to trials and such.”

“I take it Al Saher has been reluctant to answer your questions.” Bane gestured to Malcolm.

“I’m already going to die. why should I waste my final days helping them?” Malcolm said. Malcolm only helped people who had some way of helping him. Telling Hydra anything wouldn’t help him in anyway.

“Fascinating.” Bane said before walking away.

“Why do they want to kill us anyway?”

“Because during the seventy years or so, when you kept feeding conflicts and causing more chaos, you hurt and killed a great number of innocent people. And after Insight failed and you were scrambling to recover, one of those innocent people you hurt had friends in high places.” Sara said emerging from the shadows. “So, you’re all going to die.”

“My brother is a United States Senator.” Ward told her smugly. “If I disappear, or turn up dead, it’s gonna raise questions.”

“What do you mean? You’re already dead. The plane you were on crashed in the mountains during a storm. Everyone aboard was killed. It’ll be months before the ice will thaw enough to recover the bodies.” Sara said in a confused voice. She smirked and left. 

* * *

 

**Felicity’s Room**

“I have some news for you.” Amara said as she came into Felicity and Bucky’s room.

“I don’t think I can take any more surprises right now.” Bucky remarked.

“Yeah, me neither.” Felicity agreed. “Unless it’s a happy surprise.”

“You would consider this a happy surprise. You are far enough along in your pregnancy to find out the gender.” Amara told her. “Would you like to?”

“Yes!” the blonde said immediately.

Ten minutes later, they were in the medical wing watching as Amara prepared the ultrasound machine. She put the gel on Felicity’s stomach and started moving the wand around.

“Here’s the baby. There is the head.” Amara said. “Let’s answer the big question shall we? You’re having a-“

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliffhanger I know.  
> Boy or girl? What do you think they're having?
> 
> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	68. Chapter 68

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity and Bucky find out the gender of their child, the US reacts to some surprising news and Malcolm plants a suggestion

**Nanda Parbat**

Amara put the ultrasound gel on Felicity’s stomach and started moving the wand around.

“Here’s the baby. There is the head.” She told them, pointing to it. “Let’s answer the big question shall we? You’re having a girl.”

“It’s a girl?” Felicity asked in disbelief before turning to Bucky. “We’re gonna have a daughter!”

He smiled and said, “I know, I heard her too.”

“I will give you two a moment.” Amara said as she went to leave the room.

“Wait!” Felicity yelled.“I- I’ve got a plan for telling my family the baby’s gender. I need you to keep this development quiet.” She didn’t want a repeat of announcing her pregnancy. She also needed to work her way up to telling them. “Can you do that?”

“I will do my best. I will not lie to the Demon Head.”

“Well, if he asks about the sex, can you just say I want to tell him myself? Please?” The blonde pleaded. Amara nodded and left. Felicity started to caress her stomach. “Our daughter’s in here.”

“I know. I’m excited.”

“And you’re really happy it’s a girl? You aren’t just saying what you think I wanna hear?” she asked him.

“Of course I’m happy. There’s gonna be a mini-you running around soon.” He answered. “Did you think I’d be upset?”

“Yes. No. I don’t know. I just- I was excited either way, but I thought maybe, after the last few weeks, you might’ve changed your mind and secretly been hoping for a boy.” She said self-conciously. “And she’s not gonna be a mini-me, she’s gonna be a combination of both of us.”

“Well, I hope she gets your brains and your compassion.” He said, leaning down to kiss her.

“I hope she gets your smile and your determination.” Felicity said after they broke apart.

“My determination?” He wondered.

“After DC, most of your recovery, recovering your memories, putting yourself back together, figuring out who you are, that was you. I helped and Sara helped and others helped you, but you did most of the work. That takes a hell of a lot of determination.”

“Your brains, my determination. She sounds pretty great already.” Bucky said. it was quiet for several moments. “How are you going to tell your family?”

“I’ve got no idea. I definitely wanna do it in private, without Dusan, but that’s all I know so far.” She said. “But I also need to do it in such a way that Nyssa doesn’t tell Sara, and Talia doesn’t let it slip to Bruce, because that’s a separate reveal.”

Bucky nodded in agreement. “Wait, I thought Talia and Bruce weren’t together.”

“Well, they aren’t ‘together’ together, but there’s still feelings there and because of Damian, they do talk quite often.”

 

Felicity and Bucky headed back to their quarters, only to find Bane in the hallway waiting for them.

“I have a gift for you.” he said to Felicity, while holding a box out towards her.

“Bane, I like to think of us as friends, don’t you?” the blonde asked.

“I do view you as a friend.”

“Good. As my friend, I’d like you to be honest with me.” she continued. “Is there a decapitated head in that box?”

“Yes there is. The head of Dr. List.” Bane answered.

“Knowing that, and please don’t be offended, I’d like to say ‘thanks but no thanks’ to the gift.” Felicity said. “Thank you for being honest.”

He took the box and walked away.

“Do people normally give you human heads?” Bucky wondered aloud.

“No, but it’s a strange tradition we have here for League members to present the Demon Head’s family members, with the heads of their fallen enemies. The doctor was the closest thing to an archenemy I’ve ever had.” She told him. “I think he knew I was gonna say ‘no’ to that, but that I’d appreciate the gesture. And it is actual proof that the doctor is dead, so-.”

“Can we just agree to forget that just happened and go back to being happy about what Amara said?” Bucky suggested. This whole thing was too morbid for him.

“You read my mind.” 

* * *

 

**Starling City**

“Does Felicity know yet?” Oliver asked Digg.

“That her name’s been cleared and she can come back? I don’t know. This whole situation was very off-the-books so it’s not like it’d make the news.”

“Lyla or one of the Avengers would try and reach out to her, right?” Roy asked. “I mean, should we try to call her and tell her?”

“Her family would have told her, and they know everything, so-.”

“Yeah, but Ra’s has been trying to get Felicity to move to Nanda Parbat for years. He might not tell her if it means she’ll stay.” Thea said. “If she doesn’t know she can come back, she might not try to come back.”

“She’s capable of finding it out on her own though.”

“She’s gonna come back.” Oliver said. “She was livid about being forced to leave, I doubt she’s gonna stay gone.”

“Besides, the League may be centuries old and know things lost to the mists of time, but there’s no way she’s gonna have that baby anywhere except a hospital.” Digg said. “Ra’s or no Ra’s, Barnes is too overprotective to risk anything happening.” 

* * *

 

**New York**

The Avengers stood looking at the television where a news report was playing.

“The Associated Press just confirmed that Flight 7821 crashed in the Hindu Kush Mountains approximately 24 hours ago. The plane was carrying a number of suspected Hydra members being sent abroad for trial.” The anchor said. “The crew lost communication with the tower at approximately 11:43pm local time shortly after sending out a distress call. The plane had gotten caught up in an unexpected storm. Given the severity of the storm, there have been no rescue or search attempts. According to the experts, any survivors would have succumbed to frostbite and hypothermia within a few hours of the crash.”

“So that’s it? They’re all dead.” Pietro asked.

“Or someone just wants the world to think that.” Natasha responded. “If everyone thinks they’re dead, no one’s gonna look for them.”

“You think Hydra did this?”

“It wasn’t Hydra.” Hill said coming into the room. “I called in a few favors. Every person whose come in contact with those prisoners since they were taken out of SHIELD custody has been checked, rechecked and triple checked. They’re all clean. And every other flight landed without incident.”

“What do you mean, every other flight?” Clint asked.

“That plane was only carrying prisoners being sent to Bialya for trial. The one to New Zealand landed fine. The ones to China, France, Bahrain, Armenia, they all went according to plan. This plane was the only one to disappear, which makes me think it wasn’t an accident.”

“You think someone didn’t want the world to know what happened to those prisoners.”

“What’s so special about Bialya?” Steve wondered.

* * *

 

**Nanda Parbat Dungeon**

“So, that’s it then. The world thinks we’re dead and we’re stuck in this cell until they come back to torture us to death.” One of the Hydra agents lamented.

“Pretty much.” Malcom answered. “Unless-“

“Unless what?”

“Never mind, you’d never survive. Forget I said anything.” He asked, knowing it would incite their curiosity.

“No, tell us, unless what?”

“These people are old school. As in pre-Roman empire, old school. They’ve decided you’re guilty, but there’s one thing you can do to change their minds. Trial by combat.”

“Trial by combat isn’t a thing anymore.” Ward pointed out.

“It is here.” Malcolm replied. “If you win, they’d let you walk right out of here. But like I said, you wouldn’t stand a chance.”

A number of Hydra members disagreed with Malcolm's statement and contemplated demanding a trial by combat. If even one of them managed to win, they could get out of here and tell the remnants of Hydra where the others were. Or take over the facility for themselves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	69. Chapter 69

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity and Ra's talk, Felicity and Bucky argue, the US wants answers and Malcolm's manipulations might pay off.

**Nanda Parbat**

Felicity was sitting in her and Bucky’s room, going through a baby name book she’d bought in New York when there was a knock at the door. Nyssa had shown up earlier that day and dragged Bucky away for sparring. She claimed to need ‘a worthy partner’ and that he needed an outlet.

“Come in.” she yelled, knowing it was probably Sarab, since no one in her family would bother knocking. She was surprised when Ra’s stepped into the room.

“I hope I am not disturbing you.”

“Nope.” She answered, shutting the book. “Just making a list of baby names. I’ve got like six months to do that.”

“Have you discovered the child’s gender?”

“Yes, but ‘m not telling you yet. I’ve got something in mind and I won’t let you mess it up.” she said.

“I could always ask Amara.” Ra’s countered.

“I think you already did and she told you I asked her not to tell you.” the blonde shot back. She cleared her throat and turned more serious. “I didn’t get to tell you I was pregnant on my own terms. Please let me do this on my own terms.”

“Very well. I hope you are not delaying your announcement because you fear I will react a certain way.” She shook her head. “Now, to why I came to see you.”

“Yeah, I’m guessing it isn’t good. Usually, you make me come to you.”

“You weren’t feeling well the last few days. I saw no reason to make you get out of bed for a conversation we could have anywhere.”

“And I’m happy for that, but please get to the point.”

“There are a few matters that I have kept from you, matters I now need you to be aware of. First, the prisoners in the dungeon. They aren’t here, you didn’t see them.”

“Ok, that’s the story with every prisoner you’ve ever had. Not unusual, why are you telling me this?”

“Because officially, everyone on their plane died when it crashed in the mountains. If anyone ever connects the pieces together, you need to be ready to deceive them. Especially your friends in SHIELD.”

“Most of the agents I met can’t be in the same room as me.” Felicity said, her father shot her a confused look. “When this blows over and I go home, I didn’t wanna have them hanging over my head, or interfering with my life. With the exception of one agent, Skye who I’m actually friends with, I’ve got a restraining order against the other agents. Sara’s sister helped me out, as did Talia’s beloved.”

“I was not aware of this development.”

“I know, I didn’t wanna get my hopes up.” she told him. “Whats the other stuff you wanna talk about?”

“I have asked your husband to accompany Talia on an assignment, and he has agreed.”

“Why? Why ask him and why’d he agree? Why not Bane, or Sarab, or Kirigi or the thousands of assassins at your beck and call. He’s not a member of the League, you can’t order him around.”

“I did not order him to go, I asked him and he agreed. I cannot say why he did so. I requested he go with your sister because he has more experience with this matter than the others.”

“You’re sending him after more Hydra?”

“No, I’m not. He’ll be gone for three days.” He told her.

“How- how dangerous is this assignment? What are you sending him off to do?”

“For your sister and your husband, it is not a dangerous assignment. They are both skilled warriors and you should not be concerned. Given how detrimental stress can be for a pregnant woman, I will not share the details with you.” Felicity rolled her eyes and scoffed. “Do not do that. It is immature and not ladylike.”

“Don’t lecture me. Is that all?”

“No, I wished to discuss how you are faring. The week has been stressful, but it is nice to have you home. You never believe me when I say I miss you being here.”

“Yeah, because it always ended with you trying to pressure me into coming back. I don’t really fit in here anyway.”

“You ‘fit in’, you simply refused to admit it because of what it means. You are in denial. You ‘fit in’ with your sisters, and Taer al Safher, Sarab, Bane, I could continue. And is it so abnormal that a father would not want his daughter half a world away? That he would desire she was somewhere he knew to be safe? There is very little in this world I care about, you and your siblings are part of that minority.” Ra’s stood up. “I will leave you to your name selecting. Please, if I may have some input, promise me one thing.”

“Depends on what it is.”

“Do not name your child something idiotic, like the name of a city or some fictional character.”

 

About an hour later, Bucky came into their room, looking tired. “Why didn’t you warn me Nyssa was that intense?”

“You’ve met her, I thought you would’ve picked up on that.” Felicity responded. “My dad and I had an interesting conversation.”

Bucky noticed the look on her face. She definitely wasn’t happy. “He told you about the mission.”

“Well, someone had to, and you didn’t, so-“

“He asked me this morning. It’s not like I’ve known for days and just didn’t say anything.” Bucky argued.

“Why did you agree to go?”

“I don’t fully know. It just felt right.”

“When are you leaving?” she asked.

“Day after tomorrow.” He answered nervously.

“Great.” Felicity said before getting up and walking away from him.

“Please don’t be like that.” he said following her.

“Be like what? Worried something’s gonna happen? Scared you might not come back? Angry that you agreed without even talking to me first? Furious that, just once, we can have a month where all this assassin and spy shit doesn’t interrupt our lives? What?”

“All of those.” Bucky said. She didn’t respond, and he tentatively reached an arm out to turn her to face him. “Look, I- I need to do this. For me. Since DC, I’ve only gone into the field for personal reasons, you were in danger or Hydra was closing in. I need to know that that’s not all there is to me anymore. That the James Barnes who joined the army to serve his country, to make the world better, is still in here somewhere.”

“You make it very hard for me to stay mad at you.” Felicity said in an annoyed voice. “I get that-ok maybe I don’t but I can kinda see where you’re coming from. I’m just- what happens if you don’t come back? I can’t do this without, I- I don’t- I lost you twice already, I won’t survive a third time. I need you and someone,” she gestured to her stomach, “is gonna need you too.”

“I’m gonna come back. Even if I have to walk all the way back here, nothing’s gonna keep me from coming back to you.” he told her. Then, he reached down to put an hand on her stomach. “Or her.”

 

The next day, a little before dawn, Felicity was woken up when she felt the bed shift next to her. She was about to open her eyes when she felt Bucky’s metal hand caress her stomach.

“ ** _Hello, my little love. I have to go away for a few days, and I’m gonna miss you so much.”_** he said barely above a whisper. **_“I want you to be a good girl for your mama while I’m gone, ok? She doesn’t like it when I have to go so far away. Can you do that for me?”_**

Felicity felt a weird, butterflies-like sensation as he was talking and decided to speak up. “She just moved, so I think that means yes.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you- she moved?” he asked. “I didn’t feel anything.”

“Yeah, she moved. According to Lyla and all the books I read, it might be a little while before you can feel it.” she said and Bucky frowned. “You can’t feel her yet, but I think she’s starting to recognize your voice.”

* * *

 

**Washington, DC**

Agent Nagi of the CIA was not having the best few days. She’d done her job, she got the prisoners she was responsible for to Bialya. Unfortunately, shortly after they were out of her sight, their plane crashed and now the US, and the world at large, wanted answers.

“Ms. Nagi,” Senator Ward, who given his relationship to one of the prisoners shouldn’t even be in the committee meeting, started, “can you explain to this committee why you were not aboard Flight 7821 when it crashed?”

“Due to the Bialyan government’s policies regarding foreign governments, we were ordered to land at an airstrip along their border. The prisoners were taken from our plane to one owned by the Bialyan government. Only one agent, Agent Kadir Abbas, was allowed to go with them. The flight number remained the same for convenience purposes.”

“Why Agent Abbas? You were the senior agent.”

“What policies are you referring to?”

“Abbas went because he had experience with their government. He was a liaison between their intelligence agencies and our own for several years. The Bialyan government, and the people, aren’t fans of most western countries, including our own. This stems from years of the west attempting to colonize or otherwise interfere with their country. As a result, we can’t access their airspace, and even in this situation, no foreign government can land a plane inside their borders.”

Several SHIELD agents, and a few Avengers, sat in the back of the room as Nagi gave her testimony. They all knew they were missing something, but couldn’t work out what it was.

* * *

 

**Nanda Parbat Dungeon**

It took two days after Malcolm’s announcement about trial by combat for one of the Hydra agents to act on the information. When an assassin came down to deliver their breakfast, which was a bowl of grey slop, one of prisoners stood and addressed the man.

“I demand trial by combat.”

“You do?” the assassin said neutrally.

“Yes.”

The assassin nodded, turned and walked away. About five minutes later, Nyssa came down the stairs. “You wish to partake in trial by combat.”

“I do.”

“And you are aware that if you lose or surrender, your life is immediately forfeit.”

“I figured.” He shot back. “Are we doing this or what?”

“Very well.” she said before turning to the guards. “Escort Mr. Caldera to another cell, I will inform the others.” she walked away and the guards did as they were told.

After they left, and the group settled down, Ward turned to Malcolm. “There’s something about this you didn’t say. What didn’t you tell him?”

“Now, why would I tell you if I didn’t bother to tell him?”

What Malcolm didn’t tell him, or anyone, was this: no prisoner had lasted more than three and half minutes in trial by combat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
> 
> What should they name the baby?


	70. Chapter 70

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers try to solve a mystery, trial by combat happens, Bane overhears something useful and Ra's plan begins

**New York**

“J, run the number again.” Steve heard Tony say as he walked into the engineer’s lab.

“With no additional information, I’m afraid it will not give a different outcome.” JARVIS responded.

“What’re you doing?” Steve asked Tony.

“Trying to figure out what happened to that plane.” He answered. “Planes don’t just disappear in this day and age. No offense, you know.”

“Nat and I were thinking the same thing. This whole thing doesn’t add up.”

“J, ask Romanoff to come down here.” Tony said. “Maybe between her superspy skills, my genius and your common sense, we can figure it out.”

Natasha came into the lab and wanted to know why Tony called her. Steve explained what was going on. Nat went back upstairs to get everything she’d gathered on the disappearance so far.

“What do you have?” She asked Tony after she returned.

“Military transports fly at 500 miles an hour. The plane supposedly crashed at 11:43 pm. The plane landed at the border and the passengers were moved at 11:07pm. The mountains where the plane crashed are 50 miles away from the border. In perfect weather, assuming the most direct route, and factoring in the time involved in take off, it takes between 7 and 12 minutes to fly from one side of the range to the other. Even in bad weather, it shouldn’t have taken them longer than 21 minutes to cross the mountain range. There’s 36 minutes no one can account for.”

“So, you think what? They landed the plane, took everyone off, killed the agent on board, took all the prisoners somewhere else and then crashed the plane into the mountains.” Steve said.

“Well, yeah.”

“The timing would add up.” Natasha conceded. “Especially if the storm wasn’t as bad as they’re making us think.”

“Ok, so it’s possible. I don’t see the connection between Bialya and this group of people though. The Hydra agents seemed picked at random.”

“They aren’t.” Natasha replied. “I haven’t found something that connects all of them, besides Hydra, but there are things that connect a few of them.”

“Like?”

“Ward and Wilson are both related to prominent government officials. Washington, Caldera and Goins were all involved in the attack here after Siberia. Caldera and Williams are legacies. Matthews is the younger sister of one of the agents Bucky killed in Boston. Green and Sharpe were thought to be responsible for a chemical attack in China a few years back.”

“None of those incidents explain why the Bialyan government would want to extradite them.” Steve pointed out. “There had to be an incident, or several, that happened in Bialya and they thought these people were responsible for.”

“Yeah, that’s the problem. I haven’t been able to find anything. The country is very isolated, by choice, and their embassy is stonewalling every attempt to get answers.” 

* * *

 

**Nanda Parbat**

The day after Bucky and Talia left on their top secret mission, which Felicity still hadn’t gotten anyone to tell her anything about, there was a knock on her door in the late morning.

“Come in.” She said, and Sarab stepped into the room. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong. I just expected you to be ready by now.”

“Ready for what?”

“No one informed you?” he asked before answering the question. “Someone has demanded trial by combat, which is starting in an hour.”

“Who’s stupid enough to do that?” the blonde wondered. No one survived trial by combat. Everyone who had been told about trial by combat knew no one survived. So, the fact that it was happening was suspicious.

“One of the Hydra members Lady Talia….acquired. Michael Caldera.”

“Who told them about that in the first place?”

“I suspect Malcolm Merlyn. Although I am unsure why he would inform them of such a ritual.”

“Probably to buy himself time.” she scoffed. “If even one of them demands it, it buys him a few extra hours of life.” She shrugged. “Wait, what does this have to do with me?”

“As a child of the Demon, you are expected to be present at all such rituals. Usually, you are not in Nanda Parbat and thus excused.”

“So, I’ve gotta get all dressed up to watch my father fight someone for fifteen seconds before cutting off their head? That’s not a waste of time or anything.”

“Waste of time or not, the Demon Head expects you to be present and sent me to collect you.” he responded.

“Fine. Can you give me a few minutes to get dressed?”

Sarab bowed and left the room. Felicity changed into her League robes, which were similar to Nyssa’s, except it had purple accents instead of red ones. She pulled her hair back into a low bun and walked out of the room. “Let’s get this over with.”

 

She and Sarab walked in silence to Ra’s throne room where the trial by combat would take place. Entering the room, there were a handful of assassins already there, waiting for the accused to be brought in. Felicity took her place next to Ra’s with Nyssa on his other side.

“Ah, Zahara. I trust you are doing well.”

“I’m fine. Kinda hoping we could get this farce over with.”

“Farce?”

“He doesn’t stand a chance. Everyone here knows it and we all know why a certain magician told him about this. That makes it a mockery of our traditions.”

“Be that as it may, Caldera challenged the League to a trial by combat and we must answer the challenge.”

Felicity was going to respond when Michael Caldera was brought into the room. He was led to a few feet away from Ra’s and stopped by a guard.

“Michael Caldera, you have invoked the right to trial by combat.”

“I have.” He answered.

“And you have been made aware of the repercussions should you lose or yield.”

“I have.” He spoke again. “Can we get this over with?”

It was part of the process. The person calling for trial by combat had to declare three times that they were invoking their right to trial by combat. They also had to accept the conditions of defeat verbally at least once. Now that Caldera had done both, the combat could begin.

“Very well.” Ra’s said standing. He nodded to Sarab.

“Remove your shirts. This is custom.” He told Caldera, who did as instructed. Sarab then gestured to a rack where various swords were held. “Choose your weapon.” Caldera pondered for a few moments before selecting a katana.

Ra’s started to speak. “Kirigi, if you would.”

Kirigi stepped forward and removed his shirts, handing it to the assassin next to him. He grabbed a scimitar and walked to the center of the room and held his arms out in a ‘come on then’ gesture. “Fight me.”

Caldera swung the katana, Kirigi blocked him. He tried to strike another blow, which was also blocked. He went in for a third try, and Kirigi’s sword sliced him across the abdomen. He reeled back in shock before lowering his sword. He put a hand over the wound, which came away bloody. Caldera was too focused on the blood to anticipate Kirigi’s next move, which was to stab him in the side. He dropped the sword.

“Stop! I yield or whatever.” he said, putting his hands up in surrender. Clearly, he hadn’t thought this through at all. No one moved, then Kirigi put his sword through his chest. “But I yielded.” Caldera gasped out.

“Yes, but yielding means you forfeit your life.” Nyssa informed him.

Kirigi pulled the sword out and he fell to the ground dead. In total, the fight had lasted less than a minute.

“See, it was a mockery and a waste of time.” Felicity turned to Ra’s and said.

He ignored her and ordered another assassin to remove Caldera’s head and deliver it to the dungeons. 

* * *

 

**Nanda Parbat Dungeon**

It had been very quiet in the days since Caldera demanded trial by combat and was moved to another cell. When they asked the guards about him, the guards only said that the trial hadn’t taken place yet. None of the other wanted to demand a trial until they knew how his own turned out.

Shortly after breakfast, two assassins came down the stairs. Both had their hands behind their backs. “The trial by combat has taken place. He lost.” The one on the left said.

“You’re lying.” One of the prisoners yelled.

The one on the right moved his hands to in front of him and set what he was holding down onto the floor. “Does this look like the face of a man who was victorious?”

All the prisoners except Malcolm reeled back in shock. The two assassins turned to go.

“Out of curiosity, how long?” Malcolm called out.

“How long what?” Ward asked him. The Magician shushed him.

“Forty-seven seconds.” One of them yelled over their shoulder.

“What does that mean?”

“It means between the trial starting and him dying, less than a minute passed.” He answered.

“Yes, it was very short and a waste of time in my opinion.” Felicity said, entering the dungeon with Sarab right behind her. “He didn’t even die well. Then again, none of you seem to.” She turned to go. “I wonder which one of you will be next.”

When she was gone, the Hydra members all started talking at once. Some thought the head was a fake. Other were accepting that they’d die there. A few naively thought there was still hope of escape or rescue.

One man seemed certain that, once they figured out the plane didn’t crash, Hydra would send the Asset to extract them. A few operatives argued that they hadn’t seen or found a trace of him in months, but the man insisted. He claimed Hydra had captured Bucky in late July.

None of the Hydra members understood why Malcolm laughed at this idea and said, “I really wouldn’t count on that happening.” They wrote it off as Merlyn trying to manipulate them again.

Bane stood just out of sight and listened to the men argue. An idea popped into his head that Ra’s might find illuminating.

* * *

 

**Kasnia-Two days later**

Bucky and Talia stood on a rooftop, looking down at the scene before them. Police, Interpol, and a dozen other agencies had shown up at the warehouse on an anonymous tip from Talia.

“How does it feel?” Talia asked him. “To have made the world better.”

“I didn’t make the world better, I just took six people out of it.” Bucky pointed out.

“Didn’t make it better? You rid this world of six men involved in evil deeds. You saved dozens of women and children from terrible fates. I don’t think you realize how much of a difference you’ve just made.” She retorted. “I hope you see now, the good you and the League of Assassins can accomplish. Together.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?  
> What do you think Ra's plan is?


	71. Chapter 71

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ra's plan continues to develop and Felicity isn't happy. The Hydra agents get a wake-up call.

**Nanda Parbat**

After Bane overheard the prisoners arguing about if and how they’d get rescued, he went to the Demon Head. What he’d heard could be used to great effect against the Hydra agents and to fulfill Ra’s latest plan.

“And this is a direct quote?” the Demon Head asked.

“Yes. ‘They will send the Asset to extract us’ were Wilson’s exact words.” He answered. “Al Saher laughed at the claim, but after what happened to Caldera, they don’t put much stock in his words.”

“To our benefit. This is an unforeseen opportunity. I think a discussion with Al-Jundi is in order, without Zahara present.”

 

The next morning, Felicity stirred awake when she felt Bucky tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. The coldness of his metal hand is what woke her.

“Uh, I’m trying to sleep and your hands are cold, James.” She said rolling over. a second later she rolled back. “Wait! You’re back!”

“I’m back, sorry for waking you up.” he said, getting off of the bed.

“No, stay. How are you- I mean, how was your mission?”

“Fine. It was successful. But I missed you.”

“Aw, I missed you too.” She leaned up to give him a peck on the lips. “You missed the bloodshed two days ago.”

“What bloodshed? Are you ok? did something happen?”

“I’m fine, calm down. The bloodshed wasn’t mine, it belonged to one of the prisoners. He demanded trial by combat and lost, badly. It doesn’t really matter.” She said. “I wanna hear about your mission. No one would tell me anything.”

“They didn’t want to stress you out.” he reasoned. “It went fine. We went after and took down a human trafficking ring. At one point, Pierce loaned me out to recapture ‘lost property’ for a similar operation, so I knew a bit about how they operate. Monsters tend to stick together after all.”

“You aren’t a monster.” Felicity said, leaning her head against his shoulder.

“I feel like one half the time. Even if I am, I’m not like they are. The victims- there were kids they were trying to sell. Toddlers. I- I should feel bad for killing six of the men behind the ring, but I don’t. These men, they were evil.”

“Has my father ever given you the ‘first time I killed a man’ speech?” She asked, Bucky shook his head. “I don’t remember it verbatim, but after he killed the man, he felt ashamed but he also felt proud, because he’d fought against someone who wanted to hurt is family, he’d replaced evil with death. My point is the world isn’t as black and white as people like Oliver or Steve think it is. Not everyone can be saved, or redeemed or want to be. And sometimes killing one person saves hundreds of others from something terrible.”

“So I shouldn’t feel bad?”

“Feel bad, don’t feel bad, feel however you feel. I’m just saying, it’s okay if how you feel doesn’t fit in with how you think you should.”

“It felt good though. Not the killing, that felt like it always does, but afterwards it felt good. I felt good for having helped the victims. I didn’t think I would.”

Felicity was about to respond when someone knocked on the door. They stuck their head inside and informed them that Ra’s wanted to talk to Bucky, and only Bucky, as soon as possible.

* * *

 

**Dungeon**

Most of the prisoners were staring into space. Since Caldera’s death, nothing had happened. They’d just been left in their cells to their own devices. Malcolm was taken away on the first day and hadn’t been seen since. They could still hear him though. Most had finally realized they didn’t have any hope.  The heavy sound of footsteps made a few of them turn, but didn’t arouse much curiosity.

Then, one of the guards yelled something in a panicked voice. The sound of a fight could be heard.

“What’s happening?” one of them asked.

“I think there’s a surprise visitor. The guard just asked ‘who are you? what are you doing here?’ whoever it is, I don’t think he’s on their side.”

“That’s good, right?”

Another operative was about to respond when a guard went flying and landed a few feet from the cell. Someone stalked over to him.

The person was roughly 6 feet tall, dressed all in black. He was wearing a black tactical mask that covered everything except his eyes. Ward could count at least six weapons on his person. On top of that, the man had a metal arm.

“I told you they would send the Asset.” One Hydra agent, the same one who insisted Hydra had recaptured Bucky.

By now, the guard seemed to be unconscious. The captured agents all began to bark orders at Bucky, different variations of ‘let us out and get us out of here’.  Bucky stood stock-still and just stared at them.

“Help us! You will comply!” Ward eventually yelled. The longer the Asset waited to get them out, the more likely they were to get caught.

Bucky took his mask off and glared at the group. “Why the fuck would I ever help you?”

“Because you serve Hydra and they ordered you too.”

Laughter seemed to echo from all around the dungeon. The guards began laughing, Malcolm began laughing, Talia and Nyssa who’d snuck into the room behind Bucky started laughing. Sara reached the bottom of the stairs and asked what was so funny.

“They think I’m here to rescue them. They also think I’m loyal to Hydra.”

“Ok, that actually is kinda funny. Except the ‘loyal to Hydra’ part, that’s just insulting.” The blonde responded.

“If you aren’t here to help us, how’d you get in and why are you here?”

“The man you refer to as the Asset, known to many others as the Winter Soldier, is known to us as Al-Jundi.” Ra’s said, stepping into the room. “My son-in-law.”

“Why bring him down here?”

“To break you completely. You will not be rescued, and if an attempt is made, I want all of you to understand that you do not even have a fraction of a chance to escaping.”

* * *

 

**Nanda Parbat**

When Bucky came back from doing Ra’s ‘a favor’ in the dungeon and explained what happened, Felicity found herself storming into her father’s throne room wanting an explanation.

“What exactly do you think you’re doing?!” She yelled.

“ _Leave us.”_ He said to the assassins in the room, leaving him and Felicity alone. “ _What has angered you so?”_

_“James told me what you sent him into the dungeon for. On top of that, he told me about his mission with Talia. How good it felt.”_ Felicity said crossing her arms. _“I’d like to know what you’re trying to manipulate my husband into doing.”_

_ “Manipulate is such an ugly word. I’m merely trying to guide him down a better path, much as I did you.” _

_ “To what purpose?” _

_ “I will not insult your intelligence, I’m certain you knew what I would say before you entered the room.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
> 
> Note: This work will be updated every other Friday from now on.


	72. Chapter 72

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ra's plan is revealed, and Felicity makes an impulse decision

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know how some chapters don't have a lot of action/plot and some have too much? This one has a lot of things happening in it.

**Nanda Parbat**

_ “I’d like to know what you’re trying to manipulate my husband into doing.” _

_ “Manipulate is such an ugly word. I’m merely trying to guide him down a better path, much as I did you.” _

_ “To what purpose?” _

_ “I will not insult your intelligence, I’m certain you knew what I would say before you entered the room.” _

_“He’s not going to.”_ Felicity said looking intently at Ra’s. “You may want him to be your heir, but he’s not going to become the next Demon Head.”

“Of course, he is. Why else would I put so much time and effort into helping him escape Hydra and making sure they couldn’t reclaim him?” He said. “I certainly didn’t do it out of the goodness of my heart.”

“So, all of your ‘Hydra must be destroyed, they’re a plague on this world’ was to win him over to your side?”

“No, that was a happy coincidence. They interfered with my plans in the past. They were responsible for the bombing that killed Talia’s mother. That’s why I’ve been killing every member I could find for the last fifty years. You were what brought him over to my side.”

“Me?”

“I told you months ago. I adopted you because I needed a truce between the League of Assassins and the Winter Soldier. That wasn’t entirely true. What I truly needed was a way to ensure that, when the time came, he would come to Nanda Parbat and join us.”

“So, I don’t actually mean anything to do. Great.” Felicity said.

“At the beginning, no. You were a means to an end. I have grown to genuinely care for you in the subsequent years. However, my feelings for you will not cause me to change my mind or abandon my plans.” He told her. “Al-Jundi will become the next Ra’s al Ghul. Now, he can do it of his own free will or I can force his hand. Which path I take is his choice.”

“And if we leave? What happens if I tell him I’m homesick and we just decide to leave?”

“You could do that, but you already know the outcome. The League would follow and I would create a situation where returning here was the only viable option either of you have. I would rather not do that, but I will if I must.” Ra’s said.

Felicity scoffed and stormed out of the room. Several assassins tried to stop her, but everytime one even looked at her, she fixed them with a deadly glare. Eventually, she ran into Sarab who tried to stop her.

“My lady-“

“Zip it or I will kill you. Get out of my way.”

“I cannot-“

Furious, annoyed and feeling betrayed, she lashed out. Using all her strength, she punched him in the face. He crumpled instantly and she kept moving. She found Bucky in their bedroom, playing with Nugget.

“Hey, I- what’s wrong?”

“I know what he’s doing.” Felicity said as she started grabbing her things. She pulled out a burner phone and typed something into it. “My father.”

“And that is?”

“He’s decided you’re going to be the next Ra’s al Ghul. That’s why he sent Nyssa to Cambridge. It’s why he ‘adopted’ me. Its why Talia helped you in DC. Hell, its why he framed me for the SHIELD deaths. All to get you here so that he could manipulate you into becoming his successor.” She spat out. “Sending you on the mission with Talia. Having you mess with the Hydra prisoners, it was convince you how much ‘good’ you could do if you actually joined the League.”

“Can’t I just say ‘no’? You did.”

“He knew that I would, he was planning on it. It lulled me into thinking he’d given up. He doesn’t accept ‘no’ as an answer.” She said, as she furiously packed. “We need to go.”

Bucky grabbed his go-bag but still didn’t know if this was the best idea. “We can’t go back to New York. You’re still wanted.”

“No, I’m not. SHIELD dropped the charges against me the day the assholes in the basement arrived.” She said. “We need to leave and we need to leave now.”

Bucky was veering into fight or flight territory and didn’t know how well that would turn out. “If he knows you know, he’s not gonna just let us leave.”

“He can’t stop us if we leave right now. Let’s go.” Felicity said, walking over to the balcony.

“That way?”

“We’re only four stories up, and most of the guards are inside the compound. Less people to fight.” She said.

She moved over the railing and stepped off the ledge. Bucky watched terrified until he saw her land safely on the ground a few seconds later. He could hear someone approaching the door and jumped off the balcony as well, landing a foot away from Felicity.

Two guards approached them a few seconds later. Clearly, Ra’s had ordered everyone not to let them leave before Felicity confronted him. Bucky was preparing for a fight when both men were knocked out from behind.

“Go.” Sara said as Nyssa restrained the guards.

“What- he’ll punish both of you for this.” Felicity said.

“We know, but you should get to decide your own fates.” Her sister said. “Go. Now.”

Felicity and Bucky both nodded at the pair in thanks and kept moving. They passed a handful of guards who’d been knocked out already, thanks to Sara and Nyssa. As they turned a corner, they saw a solitary figure standing at the mouth of the valley.

“Sister.” She aimed her bow and drew the string back.

“Talia, please.” Felicity tried to reason. The brunette didn’t reply, and shot an arrow just passed Bucky’s ear. They turned to see an assassin had crept up behind them. “What-?”

“There’s a vehicle a tenth of a mile east of here. That’s the most help I can give you.”

“Thank you.” Bucky said.

They found the SUV Talia had told them about, and Felicity told Bucky to keep driving east. “He’ll have realized we aren’t in the area by now and called in a favor to the government. It’ll take them about an hour and a half to get the search started. I wanna be across the border by then.”

“How are we getting home?”

“I’ve got that covered.” _Hopefully someone got my message._  

* * *

 

**Starling City**

Team Arrow and Lyla were in the foundry discussing their latest target. An ARGUS prisoner who was considered to be extremely dangerous and deadly had escaped thanks to his cult of followers. He’d spent the last few days causing mayhem and destruction from Starling to Central City. Lyla had approached the team when ARGUS’s attempts to locate him failed.

Thea was in the middle of explaining what info she found when Lyla and Digg’s phones both started going crazy. At first, they ignored it, but the ringing and buzzing continued. Lyla finally opened the message. As she read it, her face grew more and more concerned.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” Oliver asked.

“It’s Felicity. She doesn’t say why, but she’s in Bialya, heading to the border and needs an evac.”

“Why would she leave Nanda Parbat? She said she’d be safe there.” Digg asked.

“How do we- sorry but how do we know Felicity wrote that?” Roy asked.

“She told me not to send the Dragon Lady.” Lyla answered. “Which is how she always refers to Waller. It’s her.”

Lyla was about to call and organize an extraction when someone sent them a message, to Felicity’s console, that it was handled. Oliver didn’t believe them, so Lyla went back to planning.

* * *

 

**New York**

The Avengers were having a movie night when JARVIS spoke up.

“Pardon me, but I have received a message from Ms. Smoak.”

“What’s it say?” Steve asked.

“Bucky and I on the move. Could use a lift, followed by a set of coordinates.”

“Where do the coordinates correspond to?” Natasha asked.

“A few clicks east of the Hindu Kush mountains. It appears to be right on the eastern Bialyan border.”

“What one earth are they doing there?” Natasha asked.

“No idea.”

“Can we get there in time?” Steve asked. “This sounds like they’re in trouble.”

“Let’s see. The distance is about 6500 miles. The jet puts us there 8 hours from now. Starling is closer, ARGUS could be there in 6.”

“Sir-“ JARVIS began to say.

“J, I’m thinking.” Tony said.

“You don’t need to worry about it.” a voice said from behind them. They turned and saw a man wearing black cargo pants, a red shirt, a black motorcycle jacket and combat boots. He was armed with at least three guns and wore a red helmet that covered his whole head.

“Who are-?”

“We’ve got it handled. Don’t waste the fuel.” Jason said before walking back into the stairwell and leaving.

“How’d he even get in here?” Tony asked.

“I did try to tell you.”

* * *

 

**Gotham-Earlier**

The Batfamily was about to start patrol when Alfred entered the Batcave. “There is a call for you, Master Bruce.”

“Take a message.”

“It’s Talia. She’s quite insistent.” The bulter responded.

Bruce sighed but took the phone. “Talia, now isn’t-“

“I do not have much time, so just listen. Father wants Sergeant Barnes to become the next Ra’s al Ghul. My father is the only person who wants that to happen. Barnes and Zahara are preparing to flee as we speak. I can buy them some time, but not enough to make it home.”

“What are you asking me to do?”

“Your plane can reach the eastern border by the time they get there.”

“Talia, I can’t-“

“I am not asking you to go to war against my father. I am asking you to help my sister. She doesn’t want her child to have the life she has had. Please.”

“Ok.” Bruce said before hanging up and turning to the others. “Felicity needs our help. Jason, I need you to go to Stark Tower. She might’ve contacted them. Tell them its handled. Babs, can you get into her system in Starling?”

“Not with this time constraint, but I can send a message.”

“Do it. Tell Queen we can handle it.” Bruce said. “Dick and Steph, patrol as usual. Damian and Cass, with me.”

“What about me?” Tim asked.

“Your leg’s still healing. You aren’t going anywhere.” He answered.

* * *

 

**Biaylan Eastern Border**

Felicity and Bucky reached the border and ditched the truck. It would be easier to cross the border on foot anyway. They stopped walking as soon as they crossed over the border and hid behind a pile of rocks.

“Please tell me you’ve got a better plan than hitchhiking back to New York.”

“Oh ye of little faith.” She said. “Lyla got my message. If she didn’t, Tony did. We just need to wait for them to get here.”

Bucky nodded and they fell into silence. Even Nugget seemed to realize this was a serious situation and didn’t make any noise. After about ten minutes, Bucky heard a faint rustling and nudged Felicity. He gestured in the direction of the noise. He moved to get a closer look before standing up.

“Sorry we’re a little late.” Bruce said, standing a few feet away from them. Damian and Cassandra were behind him.

“I didn’t- I’m happy to see you but wasn’t expecting you.” Felicity said.

“I know. Talia called me. My plane’s faster than whoever you did call. Shall we?” He said. She nodded and everyone got onto the Batplane and they took off.

When they reached cruising altitude, Bruce turned on autopilot and went to talk to Bucky and Felicity.

“You both are okay physically, right?”

“Yeah. I’m an idiot though.” Felicity said, looking out the window.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
> 
> Next chapter: 8/31


	73. Chapter 73

“You both are okay physically, right?”

“Yeah. I’m an idiot though.” Felicity said, looking out the window.

“Because you didn’t Ra’s actions coming?” Bruce asked.

“No, because I did, but then I thought ‘no, he wouldn’t do that to me’. I’m an idiot because I thought he actually cared, about me, Bucky, my life. Turns out, all of it’s just a means to an end.”

“You see the good in people. Its your fatal flaw.” Bruce pointed out. “No matter what you’ve been through, what people have put you through, you still believe people are good at heart.”

“Not the worst flaw to have.” Bucky said trying to reassure her.

“No, it is. Because I believe people are good and I keep getting let down.”

“Maybe, but if you didn’t see the good in everyone, you wouldn’t be you.” he said giving her a small smile. 

* * *

 

**Nanda Parbat**

Sara, Nyssa and Talia all stood in Ra’s throne room as he demanded an explanation. None of them spoke or even considered it. It didn’t take him more than two minutes to narrow down who in the compound helped Felicity and Bucky escape **.**

“Explain yourselves. Now.” He barked. No one spoke. “If you will not tell me willingly, there are other ways to learn the truth.” He said menacingly.

“I did what I knew to be right.” Talia said after a long moment.

“What you knew to be right? It was against the will of Ra’s al Ghul.”

“I still knew it to be right. She never wanted this life. I refuse to force her into it because you refuse to pass your title onto myself or Nyssa. I love my sister too much for that.”

“Love. You disobeyed me, and helped her escape, for love.”

“You cannot honestly be surprised. You told us she was our sister, you told me to treat her like a sister, and I did. She wanted to be free, so I helped her.”

Ra’s scoffed in annoyance and turned to face Nyssa and Sara. “What do you two have to say for yourselves?”

“I agree with Talia.”

“Felicity’s my best friend. She needed my help, I helped.” Sara said.

“By betraying the League.”

“What exactly is the purpose of this conversation?” Talia said. “You knew we helped, you knew before we walked into the room. What difference does our motives make?”

“It makes no difference, I merely wanted to know. I hope you understand your actions have prevented nothing. They both escaped, but I will find them. And Al-Jundi will become Ra’s al Ghul.” He then ordered the guards to escort the trio out of his presence. 

* * *

 

**Batplane**

“I suppose I should call the others. Tell them we don’t need their help anymore.” Felicity said standing up.

“Father sent Todd to New York to tell the Avengers and told Barbara to inform Oliver Queen.” Damian said. “They’ve been told.”

“Well, the Avengers have. Queen didn’t believe Babs, so he’s probably still planning his rescue.” Bruce said. He handed her his phone. “If he hears it from you, he’ll back down.”

Felicity let out a deep breath and dialed. “Hey, it’s me…..yes, its really me….fine, I’ll prove it. The first time I met you, you came into my office with a busted laptop and said you spilt a latte on it. When I pointed out the bullet holes- yeah, I told you. Listen, we- I don’t need you or ARGUS to come get us. Bucky and I are safe and on the way home….we got lift. From Batman. Yes, I know Batman, why wouldn’t I?....I’ll see you soon.” She hung up.

“He didn’t know you knew Bruce?” Bucky asked.

“He knows I know Bruce Wayne. He doesn’t know that I know Batman. Big difference.”

“We’ll be landing in Gotham in about an hour.” Bruce said. “I know you probably wanna head straight home but-.”

Bruce and his kids were among the few who understood how Felicity was feeling right now. They all had past experiences with the League and knew what it was like being Ra’s enemy. They also knew how much having Nyssa and Talia meant to Felicity, who’d only had her mom for most of her life. They all wanted to see that she was okay themselves.

“It’s okay, Bruce. I kinda wanted to see everyone too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	74. Chapter 74

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity and Bucky head to Gotham

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short chapter, and not a lot happens in it, but I still wanted to include it.

Felicity took a deep breath as she saw the Gotham skyline appear outside the Batplane’s window. It seemed silly, but now that she could see the city, something familiar, she felt safe. She knew it was stupid to feel that way. She knew the fight wasn’t over, she knew Ra’s wasn’t going to give up, but just seeing Gotham City made her relax and release the breath she didn’t know she was holding.

“Where are you gonna land this thing? I’ve always wanted to know that. I mean, someone’s gotta notice when the plane enters Gotham airspace, and be able to track it. So how do you keep the Batcave location a secret?” Felicity asked.

“That’s easy. I don’t land at the same place every time. I own a lot of property in Gotham. Some of them have very Batplane-friendly rooftops.” Bruce answered. “And why would you assume there’s only one Batcave?”

Felicity looked at Bruce, speechless.

“I think you may have broken her brain.” Bucky joked.

“Hey, I’m pregnant, and exhausted. You should be nice to me.” she whined.

“I know, I know. It’s just….. I don’t normally see you stumped. It’s fun to watch. I wasn’t trying to be mean.”

“Good. New rule. No meanness allowed from anyone.” She declared. “That includes Batman and associates.”

“You don’t have the authority to do that.” Bruce said.

“Don’t I?” she shot back.

Cassie didn’t react externally, but she was enjoying this. it was rare to see someone other than Alfred mess with Bruce. Damian was trying to stifle his laughs in the corner. Regardless of how dire a situation seemed, Felicity always seemed to find something to joke about. Bucky was cautiously happy about this. She seemed to be in a good mood, but he was worried she was just pretending so she wouldn’t be a burden.

The plane sped through Gotham and flew into a hangar underneath Wayne Manor. Alfred, Dick, Tim and Jason were already in the Batcave waiting.

“Finally! Did you take the scenic route or something?” Jason remarked. Even though he sounded nonchalant, everyone could see the tension leave his body as Felicity disembarked. He, like everyone else, had been worried about her.

“I’m glad to see both of you are safe and unharmed.” Alfred said to Bucky and Felicity. “How are you feeling?”

“Physically fine, a little hungry maybe. Emotionally, I feel like an idiot.”

“It’s not idiotic to want to believe someone you care about cares about you.” He said. “As for your hunger, I believe I can help with that.”

“Are you finally gonna let me cook?”

“I don’t want to burn the mansion down, so you won’t be touching anything. You can supervise.”

“Yay!” Felicity exclaimed. Bucky gave her a confused look while Bruce and his kids all smirked. “I’m always the supervisor. I get to boss people around.”

“And she’s very good at it.” Tim said.

“Be nice or you’re on salad duty.” She said, pretending to be angry.

“Why’s salad duty a punishment?” Bucky asked Bruce.

“It isn’t.”

“It is to her, because Felicity doesn’t like salad.” Dick said.

“Ok, there’s a lot of talking going on and not enough walking to the kitchen. I’m eating for two here and I’m hungry!” Felicity said.

“Ok, let’s feed you and the munchkin then.” Bucky said as he took her hand and let her drag him away. “How is she?”

“Quiet. It’s kinda freaking me out.” she hadn’t felt the baby move since before she and Bucky escaped. It was unnerving.


	75. Chapter 75

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity and Bucky begin to worry and Ra's begins to plot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: there's some medical talk in this chapter, including the discussion of vaginas, blood, etc.

**Gotham**

“Ok, let’s feed you and the munchkin then.” Bucky said as he took Felicity’s hand and let her drag him away. “How is she?”

“Quiet. It’s kinda freaking me out.” she hadn’t felt the baby move since before she and Bucky escaped. It was unnerving.

“Quiet. Quiet how?” he asked concerned. “I knew it. We should’ve stopped in Central City first.” he started to panic. “I’ll- no, that’s in New York, we can- I’m gonna go steal the Batplane.”

“’It has biometric security I helped deisgn, you can’t.” she told him. “I’ll call Caitlin, ask her if we should be freaking out.”

“After all the stress you’ve been under, we should be freaking out. Don’t call her, call Barry and get him to bring her here.”

“You do know there are doctors in Gotham right?” Bruce asked from behind them. “I can call one and arrange a home visit. Discretely. Dr. Snow knows your files, but someone here can at least give you an ultrasound.”

“Can I eat before we do that?” Felicity asked. “If someone doesn’t give me food soon, I’m gonna get hangry. Hangry Felicity isn’t something anyone here wants.”

“if I may make a suggestion, “Alfred spoke up, “we can do both. Whilst Master Bruce calls a doctor and arranges for a house call, I can take Felicity upstairs to get something to eat. This way everyone is happy.”

The kids, Felicity, Bucky and Alfred all went to the kitchen while Bruce began calling around for a doctor, preferably an obstetrician, who made house calls. He was happy he was Bruce Wayne at a time like this. Doctors in Gotham didn’t make house calls under any circumstances, unless you were Bruce Wayne.

He walked into the kitchen afterwards to find Felicity demolishing a sandwich while Alfred and the others were cooking what looked like spaghetti.

“What? I’m eating for two and have supersoldier caloric needs.” She said as she wiped mustard off her chin. “Don’t judge.”

“I’m not.”

* * *

 

**Nanda Parbat**

“What news?” Ra’s asked as three of his top assassins came into the room.

“No news, my lord. It appears Al-Jundi and your daughter are no longer in Bialya.” One answered. “A stolen vehicle was found at the border but we were unable to track them any further.”

“They just vanished.” He said incredulously.

“It would appear so.” Sarab said. “Or they had more help than we thought.”

“No others in the League of Assassins would aid them.”

“No others in the League, but they both have allies and friends outside of the League. The Arrow, the Flash, ARGUS, the Avengers. She could’ve reached out to any one of them for help in fleeing.”

“Or they were informed by sources within Nanda Parbat.” If Nyssa, Talia and Sara were willing to go against Ra’s and not worry about the consequences, there was no reason why they wouldn’t call Oliver Queen or any of Felicity’s other friends for assistance. “Bring me Talia, Nyssa and Taer al Safer.”

All three women were brought before him. Not one of them looked like they regretted a single thing. He supposed they thought they were right and thus anything that happened only confirmed their beliefs.

“Your efforts were in vain. I have located your sister already.”

“No, you haven’t.” Nyssa said. “I know you well enough to know when you’re lying. You’ve got a tell, even if you won’t admit it.”

“You don’t know where they are, but think we might. So, you want to trick us into telling you something.” Talia said. “And I don’t know. I suspect Nyssa and Sara don’t either.”

“You helped them escape without knowing where they were escaping to?”

“That would defeat the point, wouldn’t it? I knew we’d get caught. I knew you’d demand answers, perhaps even resort to some form of torture to get answers, but if I don’t know anything, I can’t tell you, can I?”

“Not knowing where they are means you cannot know that they are safe.”

“As long as they’re both far away from here, they’re safe.” 

* * *

 

**Gotham**

It was eight AM, when there was a knock at the door of the mansion. Alfred answered it and escorted the doctor, one Allison Martin, upstairs. While Bucky and Felicity waited, the former began drilling Bruce on Dr. Martin.

“How much do you know about this woman?”

“Felicity once called me the most paranoid person alive, so I know everything. She’s a world-renown OBGYN and is famous for maintaining her patients’ privacy. Nothing in her background or finances makes me suspicious of her.” he answered. “Besides, I get the feeling you’ll demand she explain everything to you before she’s even allowed in the room.”

“You’re right about that. what did you tell her?”

“My friend’s pregnant and hasn’t felt the baby move in over day and she’s worried. I left out 98% of the story to avoid questions.”

“I need both of you to stop…this.” Felicity said, gesturing to them. “Its- I’m freaked out enough and you aren’t helping.”

Then, there was a knock at the door. Alfred and a middle-aged brunette woman came into the room. “Dr. Martin has arrived.

“Thanks for coming.” Felicity said before either man could give her the third degree. “I might be overreacting but-“

“It’s better to be too cautious than not cautious enough. Tell me what’s going on.”

“The last few days have been- stressful doesn’t even begin to cover it. Things have calmed down, but I haven’t felt the baby move in a few days. And its making me worry.”

“Have you been injured, fallen or anything of the sort in the last few days?”

“I had to jump out of a five-story window, but I landed safely.” She admitted. “I didn’t have another choice.”

“You landed safely, though.”

“Yes, she did. I saw it.” Bucky said. “We were very lucky.”

“If I may ask, how stressful was the situation you were in? I don’t need details but the more I can know about the kind of stress, the better I can help.”

“It was kinda life or death, hence jumping out of a window.”

She nodded and turned to the others in the room. “Could I have a moment alone with Felicity? I need to ask some personal questions and I want her to feel comfortable.”

“Bucky can stay, but Bruce, I kinda need you to go.” Felicity said when both wanted to argue. “Please.”

“Ok.”

“Now, I know some of these questions sound invasive, but I need to ask. Have you been drinking, smoking or doing anything the American Medical Society advises against pregnant women doing?” Felicity shook her head.  “Any severe back pain or cramps?” Another no. “Have any of your other pregnancy symptoms seemed to go away?” She shook her head again. “Ok, last question, have you had any kind of vaginal discharge, including blood, recently?”

“Yeah, it wasn’t blood though. It was like this mucus-y thing.”

“Was it white or clear? Did it have any odor?”

“Yes to color, no to the smell.” Felicity answered. “Is that good?”

“It’s a good sign.” The doctor answered. She then walked over to where Bruce had set up an ultrasound machine and moved it closer to where Felicity was. “I’d like to do scan, if that’s okay with you.”

“Yes, please. I just- I’m terrified.”

“That’s understandable.” Martin said. She began spreading the gel on Felicity’s stomach. As soon as the wand was on Felicity’s stomach the familiar ‘thub-thub’ of the baby’s heartbeat began to echo through the room. Both parents looked ready to cry. “That’s a very good sign, but let’s see how the baby’s doing, shall we?” she moved the wand around. “Do you already know what you’re having?”

“Yes, we do.” Felicity said.

“Good, I didn’t want to ruin the surprise. Her head and abdomen look good, they’ve developed as expected. Arms and legs look good.  Everything looks perfect.”

“Then why-?”

“A few reasons. Stress could’ve made you miss the clear signs everything was fine. Babies also tend to move around more when Mom’s sitting still. You walking around or doing anything else that requires movement lulls the baby to sleep. When you aren’t moving, there isn’t that rocking sensation and baby wakes up and kicks.” She answered. “We’ll keep an eye on you two for the next week, I’ll come back in a few days to do another scan. For the meantime, take it easy, avoid stress as much as you can and call me if any of the symptoms I mentioned appear.”

“Sorry to drag you all the way out here for this.”

“It’s my job.” Dr. Martin said as she gathered her things. “I’m serious. Take it very, very slow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	76. Chapter 76

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity gets some stuff off her chest.

It seemed that Bucky, Felicity and the Batfamily all had different definitions of the term ‘take it easy’ which became apparent over the next several days. Bucky’s understanding of taking it easy meant Felicity shouldn’t be doing much of anything. Any time he saw her walking around, or even standing, he started to hover and ask if she didn’t think she should sit down for a little while. It was rather annoying. The worst part was some of the Batfamily supported his behavior.

Felicity’s definition was a little more reasonable. She avoided strenuous activity and, much to Damian’s disappointment, didn’t keep up with any of her League training. It wasn’t that Damian wanted to fight her, but sparring with her reminded him of Talia. She didn’t think she needed to avoid the Batcave or running the comms when they were in the field.

Felicity decided to grin and bear everyone’s behavior for the first few days. She’d been scared too when the baby hadn’t moved. She knew Bucky was petrified and Bruce didn’t like any problem that he couldn’t solve. It was the beginning of day four when she stopped being so understanding.

“You guys know I’m not going to shatter into a thousand pieces if I get my own juice, right?” she said out of nowhere at breakfast.

“What are you-?”

“I know what happened scared you. It scared me, it scared everyone. And for the last few days, I let a lot of things go because of that. But you keep treating me like I’m helpless and its starting to piss me off.”

“The doctor said-“

“She said to take it easy, which I meant avoiding stress, strenuous activity or doing things like jumping out of windows or getting into fights. It didn’t mean ‘move as little as possible and let everyone treat you like you’re an invalid’. I can take care of myself.”

“We’re just trying to help.”

“Well, its- it’s too much and you’re smothering me, just like-“ She couldn’t say the words. She knew exactly how it sounded, and knew once the words were out, they couldn’t just be ignored.

“Just like what?”

“Like Grandfather. That’s what you were going to say, wasn’t it?” Damian said.

Felicity’s lack of a response was all the answers they need. “Could you give your aunt and I the room?” Bruce said. All the kids filed out in silence. Bucky stayed, worried about what he was going to say. It wasn’t exactly a secret that Bruce didn’t like Ra’s and wouldn’t like being compared to him. “Was that what you were going to say?”

“I- kinda. I didn’t mean you were like him, I just meant that you made me feel the same as he did. Like I was incapable of taking care of myself.” She said. “And I…this whole situation is bringing up some conflicted feelings, okay?”

“How did you feel when he made you feel like that?”

“I got annoyed, but I let it go. I….. I thought it meant he cared, but was just bad at it. That him being overprotective was because he actually loved me. He didn’t, he was just protecting his investment.”

“The only thing I’m ‘invested’ in is making sure you and that baby stay healthy and as far away from Ra’s as possible.” Bruce said. “Please tell me you know that.”

“I do, it’s just- I don’t think you understand how conflicted I feel about the whole situation, any of you.”

“Then explain it.” Bucky said.

“I have issues, especially when it comes to the men in my life. My dad, he left. I liked some of my mom’s boyfriends but they left too. Cooper, he died or faked his death at least. Even you, you left me.”

“I didn’t want to, I didn’t have a choice. I had to- they wouldn’t have stopped and-.”

“Logically, I know that. I know that you didn’t want to go back there, to them. But I didn’t know it was Hydra then, and at the time, it felt just like when Cooper died and my dad left. And right after that happened, you leaving, that’s when I met Nyssa and her family. And here was this father-figure, one who seemed to care about me, one who didn’t leave. So, I believed all of his lies about caring about me, I ignored all the signs that he had an ulterior motive. So, all of this, him wanting Bucky and me being his means to an end, it hurts a lot more than any of the others. Not a lot of people love me for me.”

“We may have gone overboard the past few days.” Bruce admitted. “We haven’t- I didn’t want to bring up Ra’s because I knew it was a sore subject. I’m seeing that was a mistake because you’re wrong. I don’t think you realize how many people care about you and love you for no other reason than you’re Felicity Smoak. And we acted like this because we didn’t know what else to do. There was nothing we could do at the time. Batman doesn’t have a plan for that kind of thing.”

“You scared the absolute shit out of me when you said she hadn’t moved.” Bucky said quietly. “I- that was the single most terrifying moment of my life.”

“She?”

“Yeah, it’s a girl.” She said smiling. “We don’t have a name yet, but- we’re getting off topic. I need- just tone it down, okay? Please?” They nodded. “Tell your small army of children they can stop hiding right outside the door.”

“In our defense,” Tim began as he walked into the room, “you kicked us out before we ate and before I got any coffee.”

“You’re too young to be drinking coffee anyway.”

“You’re just jealous you can’t have any.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	77. Chapter 77

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reality sets in, Felicity's reminded that she's not alone and Ra's plots.

**Gotham**

After breakfast, the group broke apart to do what they had planned for the day. Dick mentioned something about visiting Barbara. Tim and Stephanie were in the middle of trying to one-up each other at a video game. Damian had to walk his various pets and Jason just left. When Bruce asked where he was going, he simply answered ‘out’ and kept walking. Cassandra left, sensing the tension in the room. She knew the adults needed to talk about something other than Bruce and Bucky coddling Felicity.

“I know- we need to talk. About what happens next.” Felicity said.

“I know, I just wanted to give you some more time before- “

“Before what?” Bucky asked.

“Ra’s isn’t just going to let us go, let you go. We need some kind of plan or idea for when he comes. He’ll- the League is supposed to stay out of Gotham but he might ignore that truce, given the stakes. I’m so sorry, Bruce.”

“You don’t need to apologize.”

“I promised you a year ago I wouldn’t bring the League to Gotham and now I’m practically begging them to show up.”

“And I promised Talia I’d help you. I promised you I’d help you. That’s what I’m doing.” He said. “You didn’t plan for this to happen, you couldn’t have known. So I’m not angry or feeling betrayed or anything.” Felicity didn’t look so sure.

“We can leave. If that’s what will make you happy and keep Gotham safe, we’ll go.” Bucky offered.

“And go where? Where could we go where Ra’s wouldn’t find us? He probably already has people searching New York, Las Vegas and Starling. He’s got a source at ARGUS and probably SHIELD. Everything I know about hiding, I learned from him.”

“But not everything I know.” Bucky pointed out. “Ra’s knows some of Hydra’s tricks but not all of them. The League has a very specific way of doing things, I don’t. That’s an advantage. Between your technical skills and my training, when we leave, we’ll stay ahead of them.”

“Neither of you are going anywhere right now. You wanna plan? Fine. Create your fake trails, come up with fake names, the whole nine yards. But don’t leave.”

“Why are you so adamant about us staying? I’m angry, I just don’t understand.”

“I’m concerned once you leave, you’ll fall out of contact. You’ll claim its for the best. Thinking everyone is better off without you, without your problems. That’s not the case at all and you don’t deserve having to do that, having to leave everything behind because of Ra’s. You have people who you care about, people who care about you, who want to help and will worry. Queen keeps trying to hack into the Batcave because Team Arrow is so worried about you. And it’s a similar story with the Avengers.” He said. “You two might be supersoldiers, but the two of you can’t handle this threat alone and you don’t have to.”

“I can’t ask- we can’t ask other people to go to war for us. Because I trusted the wrong person.”

“You aren’t asking. We’re offering.” A voice said from behind them. Felicity and Bucky turned to see Oliver standing there.

“What are-?”

“I got tired of him trying to hack into my system.”

“You’re one of my best friends, Felicity. Actually, no. you’re family. So, don’t think for a second me or John or Roy or Barry or anyone else is gonna let you do this alone.”

“But Sara, and Talia, they tried to help and-“ Felicity felt guilty. She knew helping her and Bucky would mean Ra’s punished them. She didn’t know what he would do or how bad it would be but she knew he wasn’t just going to let it go.

“Sara, Nyssa and Talia are adults. They knew what they were doing, they knew the risks.”

“That doesn’t make it better.”

“I know it doesn’t.” Oliver said. “I should’ve asked earlier, but how are you doing?”

“Physically fine. The baby’s doing well. It’s a girl.”

“Congrats. John wanted to come with me, but Lyla’s due soon so-“

“No, I get it. I’ll call him later, somehow.” Felicity said. 

* * *

 

**Nanda Parbat**

“Please tell me you know I’m not this stupid.” Talia said as she faced her father. “Neither are Nyssa or Taer al Safer.”

“I am not sure what you mean.”

That morning, Ra’s had summoned all three women to his throne room. He informed them that their punishment ‘for betraying the League’ was over. Their punishment wasn’t even much of a punishment, basically house arrest with some mind games thrown in. Mind games being forced isolation and mild sleep deprivation.

“You’re hoping one of us will lead you to Zahara. You haven’t found her and think we’ll reach out to her. Or she’ll reach out to find out we’re okay. That’s not going to happen.”

“I have no doubt that you believe that.”

“I don’t believe it, I know it. I’m not reaching out to her because I know what will happen. Nyssa won’t for the same reason. Zahara and wanting her to be safe and happy is the only thing we agree on. And Sara Lance definitely isn’t going to lead you straight to her best friend. She’s been where Felicity is right now, on the run from the League, she knows better than to do that.”

“Such loyalty to a woman you have only known for a few years.”

“She’s earned my loyalty and respect. And she hasn’t betrayed me.” The words ‘unlike you’ went unsaid. Ra’s had a pattern of betraying his children to varying degrees over the years. Using Talia’s feeling for Bruce to try and manipulate him into joining the League. Forcing Talia out of the League because of his refusal. Attempting to kidnap Damian when he became aware of his existence. Using her mother’s death to emotionally blackmail her.

“Believe what you will. I am finished punishing you for your betrayal. You are free to leave if you so wish. Tell your cohorts the same.”

Ra’s wasn’t angry at Talia’s reaction. He knew she’d know his plan. He also knew, despite her arguments to the contrary, eventually someone who break. None of the trio would last long not knowing for sure that Felicity was okay. When that happened, he’d be waiting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	78. Chapter 78

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky and Felicity need to make a decision, it isn't an easy decision to make.

Bucky and Felicity sat in their room arguing. It wasn’t a heated argument but it was starting to get worse.

“What’s wrong with it?” He asked her.

“Nothing, its just- Winnifred isn’t a name you see these days.” She said as nicely as she could. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to name their daughter after Bucky’s mother, its just that she didn’t particularly like the name Winnifred.

“You rejected Emily because its too common of a name.”

“I don’t want her to have the same name as 14 other kids in her class.” She defended.

“Olivia?”

“If we name her that, everyone’s gonna think she’s named after Oliver. Also, too common.”

“Is your mom expecting us to name her after her or something? I feel like I’d know if she did, but-”

“We can’t. Jewish tradition, you can’t name a baby after a relative that’s alive.” Felicity said. “What do you think about Rebecca?”

“After my sister?”

“I’ve always liked the name.” she said. “We don’t need to decide now, but I think it should go on the list.”

“I agree.” He said with some sadness in his voice. He was happy with Felicity, but a part of him wished he’d broken free from Hydra before his sister’s death. There was always going to be the lingering question of what she would think of him and how she would react.

“I wish I could’ve met her. Or any of them, really.”

“Me too. My ma would’ve loved you. They all would have.”

“You think so?” she leaned over and placed her head on his shoulder.

“I know so.” He said, kissing her hair. “Because I love you so much and all my ma ever wanted was for me to be happy. And I’m happy, with you.”

“I don’t know. I feel like I’m the one that keeps bringing drama into your life. You had to face Hydra again because of me, we’re on the run from the League because of me.”

“We’re hiding from the League because Ra’s al Ghul doesn’t listen to anyone other than himself and doesn’t care what other people want. This isn’t happening because of you, its happening because of him.”

“You can say that all you want but-“ she started to say but then she stopped and gasped.

This prompted Bucky to panic. “What is it? Are you okay? Is it the baby? Should we call the doctor?”

“I’m fine. She just kicked really hard. She definitely takes after you, Spartan kicking everyone.”

“Can I-?”

“Yeah.” She said grabbing his hand and placing it on her stomach. The room was quiet for several moments. “Do you feel it?”

“No.” he said disappointedly. He knew he shouldn’t be jealous about this, but he was. Felicity could feel their daughter move and kick and he couldn’t. “Maybe its still too soo- I felt it. She kicked.”

“I think she recognizes a certain someone’s voice.” she said conspiratorially.

**“ _You gave us quite a scare, young lady. I thought I told you to behave for your mama? I should’ve known better, you’re an anarchist just like her.”_** He told Felicity’s baby bump.

“Hey, I’m not an anarchist!”

“You’ve literally hacked into the US government to purposefully cause a panic.” He pointed out. “Sounds a lot like an anarchist.”

“They needed to know that some of their agents weren’t really their agents. I won’t apologize for that.” she said. **_“Don’t listen to your father, we aren’t anarchists, we’re rebels. Totally different.”_**

“Hey, Bruce wanted me to come and get you. We really should talk about- I’m interrupting something, aren’t I?” Oliver said as he entered the room. “Sorry.”

Felicity and Bucky had been smiling dopily at each other. Their hands were both resting on her stomach. The archer realized he’d walked in on a private moment between the two of them. He knew he should’ve knocked.

“It’s okay.” She said. “What did Bruce want?”

“He wants to come up with a plan. Says we’ve held off long enough.”

“He’s probably right.” She said, slowly getting to her feet. “We should come up with a code name for this. Like the Council of Elrond, or the Gallifreyan High Council.”

“We’re not calling it that.” Bruce said as he appeared in the hallway.

“You’re no fun.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?  
> Baby name ideas?
> 
> Can you believe it's been over a year since I started this story? Thank you to everyone who read it, whether you've been reading from day one or just discovered it today.


	79. Chapter 79

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Superteam tries to plan how to win against the League, but first some secrets need to be revealed.

Bruce, Oliver, Felicity, Bucky and Dick all sat around Bruce’s study, trying to figure out what to do. Batman was the only one who’d fought the League before and was somewhat successful. He didn’t defeat Ra’s like he hoped to, but he fought them to a draw and forced them into a compromise. His experience was priceless right now. Tony was listening in via Skype.

“Do we know what’s happened to Nyssa, Talia or Sara Lance?”

“No. He’s probably- I doubt he was happy. Would probably see their actions as a betrayal and we know how he deals with that kind of thing” Felicity answered. “And he doesn’t have an emotional attachment to Sara, so- oh my god. She’s going to die, isn’t she? He’s going to kill her, because of me, because she helped me. Why didn’t I-?”

“Hey, hey. It’s going to be okay.” Bucky said trying to calm her down.

“You don’t know that!” If Sara died because she helped Felicity and Bucky, she wasn’t sure she could live with the guilt. She didn’t want Sara to die, and definitely didn’t want her to die because of her.

“Sara’s alive.” Oliver said quietly. “Ra’s let her go.”

“She is?”

“He did?”

“How do you know?”

“She came to visit Laurel right before I left Starling to come here.” He said. “I spoke with her briefly. He locked them up for days, played a bunch of mind games and fucked with their sleep schedule, but no one was hurt. She’s okay. They’re all okay.”

“If she’s okay, then why- never mind, I don’t need to ask.” The emotional part of Felicity’s brain was hurt that none of them tried to call her and tell her they were okay. The logical part knew they didn’t call because they didn’t want the League to find her through them.

“Smart, figuring out a way to tell Felicity she’s okay without directly speaking to her.” Bruce concluded. “I imagine Nyssa and Talia came to the same conclusion.”

“They did. I almost told her where you were but she stopped me. Said it was better if she didn’t know.”

“Why would she say that?” Dick asked.

“Because it’s true. Neither Sara or Nyssa know where we are. In case Ra’s truly loses his marbles and starts torturing them. They can’t reveal what they don’t know.”

“They don’t know, but Talia does.” Bucky pointed out.

“She may have a suspicion, but she doesn’t know for sure.” Bruce said. “When she called me, she asked me to get you away from Nanda Parbat. She didn’t ask me to bring you to Gotham. She phrased it like that on purpose, so that she couldn’t be certain about where you were.”

“Ok, now that we know all that, what do we know about what the League has been up to?”

"A few of your not-friends were seen lingering around the Tower." Tony said.

“A few assassins have been spotted outside Starling. He probably assumed either us or the Avengers helped you escape and sent people to look for you there and in New York. They haven’t made any moves yet, but they’re watching us closely.”

“Do you think one of them followed you here?” Bucky asked. He knew Oliver would know if he was being followed. At the same time, the lives of him, his wife and daughter were at stake and his paranoia made it difficult to believe Oliver could be sure.

“No. With some help from Barry, I was able to get to Gotham without anyone, and I mean anyone, seeing me.” Oliver sensed he was being followed as he headed to Starling City’s train station, so he sent a quick text to Barry. The assassin saw Oliver get onto a train heading to Coast City, but by the time he made it through the crowd, Oliver was gone. He was already miles away from the terminal.

“Good.” Bruce said. “Is it possible Ra’s could use some of your own tech to find you?”

“No. He used very little of my tech to begin with. The little he used has basically a self-destruct code written into it.  It hurt me to do it, but he’s got several very heavy paperweights now.”

“Several Hydra members are prisoners of the League-“

“They are?”

“Flight 7821 didn’t fly into a snowstorm and crash on accident. It landed, everyone on board was taken off, and it was crashed on purpose.”

“What are the chances the League will release them in exchange for information or try to recruit them?”

“Less than zero.” Felicity said.

“What makes you so sure?”

“Ra’s al Ghul has only ever loved one person: Melisande, Talia’s mother. She was killed in a bombing that Hydra orchestrated. He wouldn’t release or recruit them, since doing so would soil her memory.” She explained. “And most of them are dead already. If we were talking about HIVE or AIM or another organization, he’d try, but not Hydra. He’s definitely released Malcolm though, in exchange for his help finding us.”

“The League has Malcolm?”

“Yes. They captured him between my kidnapping and you guys rescuing me.”

“And you think he’d lead them right to us.”

“Malcolm will do whatever benefits Malcolm.”

“We need to stop focusing on individuals and focus on the League as a whole. How are we going to fight them?”

“We don’t need to fight the whole League. Just Ra’s. When we convince him to give up, the rest of the League will follow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	80. Chapter 80

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity has a bit of a breakdown, she makes a decision and Sarab proposes a theory.

**Gotham**

Oliver, Bucky, Felicity, Bruce, Tony and Dick discussed plans and contingencies for hours until finally calling it a day. Ra’s and the League hadn’t made a move yet, so there was very little they could do to stop them. ARGUS and the Avengers were already on high alert, and Team Flash was being kept apprised of the situation.  Felicity told Tony to decide what he wanted to tell SHIELD about what was going on and when he wanted to do it. Her dislike of their behavior clouded her judgement somewhat and she didn’t want her personal feelings to put her family in danger.

They called a close to the strategy meeting and Felicity practically sprinted out of the door. Bucky followed after her, concerned.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah, its just- I couldn’t breathe.”

“Not being able to breathe is definitely not ‘everything’s okay’. That’s the opposite of being okay.”

“No, physically I was fine. My breathing was fine but- I haven’t left the building in days. Damian’s been walking Nugget, so I haven’t even left to take care of our dog. We’ve been inside for days and the longer I was inside, the more the walls seemed to be closing in around me. I felt- this mansion is huge but I keep feeling like I’m trapped in a tiny room with no way out.” she said. “And then, Bruce started talking about what we’re gonna do when they spot me, not if but when, and how we’re gonna have to disappear again and it just felt like I was gonna wind up trapped in some dank basement underground. And that took me back to Siberia and reminded me of why we’re doing this is-“ As she spoke, she became more and more frantic. He could see she was working herself into a panic which wasn’t good for her or the baby. Nugget, having heard his name, came running over. He seemed to sense how stress Felicity was and began pawing at her leg, trying to get her attention. She picked the puppy up and began petting him, but was still stressed out.

“Hey, hey, hey.” Bucky said, trying to get her attention onto him. “I wouldn’t do that to you, we wouldn’t do that to you. Why didn’t you tell me you felt this way?”

“Because its stupid. Our lives are on the line here, our daughter’s future is on the line, and I’m panicking because I can’t go outside. It sounds really stupid, and I’m a lot of things, but I’m not stupid.”

“I know, honey, I know.” He told her. “But your feelings aren’t stupid. You were imprisoned by Hydra and tortured. Ra’s was going to imprison you in Nanda Parbat if that’s what it took to get what he wanted. It isn’t unreasonable for you to not want to feel like that.”

“Yeah, but I mean, Bruce is putting himself, his family, all of Gotham at risk helping us, and I’m whining because I can’t leave the mansion.”

“Grounds.” Bruce said from the patio. “You shouldn’t leave the mansion’s grounds. I wasn’t expecting you to stay inside and away from all of the windows for the rest of your stay.”

“Okay, but outside the building, there’s a risk of some League member seeing me.”

“Do you really think I wouldn’t have defenses against that in place before bringing you here?” he asked. “If this were a less serious situation, I’d be offended.”

“What kind of defenses?”

“Motion sensors, devices that track heat signatures, a state-of-the-art security system that Babs helped design. Not to mention every inch of the fence and around it is booby-trapped. They’d have a better chance of breaking into the White House than getting close enough to the building to see that you’re here.” he explained. “I should’ve told you this from the beginning. I didn’t mean for you to feel like you were trapped here.”

“I didn’t- I wasn’t- I’ve had a rough few months and now I’m pregnant and on the run and it seems like every time I’m close to being happy, something happens to fuck it up. Normally it’s Hydra, but sometimes it’s the League.” she said. “How is it that being the only person who knew Bucky was alive was easier than my life right now?”

“Because you weren’t as involved. Back then, I was on the run from Hydra, you hadn’t met Ra’s yet and you didn’t know anything about me, the League, or top-secret agencies like SHIELD and ARGUS. Now, you do know and that makes everything more complicated.”

“I can’t- I need to process all of these things and figure stuff out, but I can’t do that right now. Or rather, I don’t wanna. What I want to do is eat. One, because I’m hungry and two, because food has never let me down. Do you think Alfred will make me a cheesecake?”

“There’s a chocolate cake in the-“ Bruce started to say.

“No, cheesecake. I want, meaning need, to eat a whole cheesecake right now. Sometimes, you just need to eat an entire cheesecake. Do you think he’ll make me one?”

“Knowing him, he somehow knows you asked that and is already making it.”

They walked inside and found Alfred in the kitchen.  He didn’t not magically know she wanted a cheesecake, but agreed to make her one.

Felicity ate her cake happily, and when she was halfway through, she turned to Bucky. “Rebecca.”

“What?”

“I picked a name for the baby. Rebecca. I don’t know about the middle name yet, but that’s what we’re naming her.”

“You really- you’re sure?”

“Yes, I am. We’re naming her after your sister.” 

* * *

 

**Nanda Parbat**

“How can you not have found her?” Ra’s demanded. “You are supposed to be the best the League of Assassins has.”

“Forgive us, my Lord.”

“We had Oliver Queen under surveillance, but he managed to evade us when leaving Starling City.”

“And where did he go?”

“We do not know. He escaped us at the train station, we didn’t even learn where he was heading.”

“We have assassins in Starling, and New York and we’ve been keeping an eye on things in Central City, but there’s one place we have yet to look.” Sarab said.

“And where would that be?”

“Gotham City.”

“You think she went to Bruce Wayne for help?”

“It’s possible, as is the chance that Lady Talia asked for his assistance when she decided to help Lady Zahara escape.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	81. Chapter 81

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We see a glimpse into how people in New York and Starling are doing, and in Gotham, a slip-up happens.

**New York**

Tony left his office and headed into the living room of the penthouse to tell everyone what was going on. Before today’s phone call, the last time any of the Avengers heard anything about Felicity was when Red Hood broke into the Tower to them she was fine. The last time they heard from her and Bucky was when they left to head to Nanda Parbat. As soon as he came into the room, Steve, Wanda and Pietro approached him.

“What happened? Where are they? Are they safe?”

“Is it Hydra?”

“They didn’t tell me everything.” he answered. “It wasn’t Hydra, it was the League. It appears Ra’s had his own reasons for wanting to help Felicity and Bucky. They both took off as soon as they learned what those reasons were. So, they’re in hiding from the League.”

“Are they safe?” Steve asked again.

“Yeah.”

“Why didn’t they come here?”

“Because Ra’s would be expecting that.” Natasha pointed out. “New York, Starling, Central City, they’re all obvious places for her to go. Not to mention, the League of Assassins has broken in here before. And since we don’t know how they managed to do it, they can do it again.”

“Okay, but where are they?”

“I think they’re in-“

“If Zaha-Felicity- wanted you to know, she would’ve told you.” Nyssa said from behind them.

“What are you doing here?”

“Protecting my family.”

“Your family is the reason all of this is happening.”

“No, my father is. But despite your opinion of me, despite what you think about Talia, we don’t want my father to be victorious anymore than you do. if we did, we wouldn’t have helped Felicity and her beloved escape Nanda Parbat. I love my sister, and all she wants is for her daughter to be safe.”

“Daughter?”

“She found out right before- before she left, she found out she was having a girl. I don’t know if they’ve picked a name yet.” Nyssa admitted. “That’s beside the point. She doesn’t want you to know where she is.”

“Why not?”

“Because the League doesn’t know.” Natasha spoke up. “They might have theories, but they don’t know. Anyone who knows would be in danger, since they aren’t just gonna ask nicely.”

“Exactly. That’s why Sara, Talia and I have made no attempts to contact her.”

“But we can help!” Steve argued.

“They know that. And when the time is right, they’ll ask for your help.”

* * *

 

**Starling**

Digg was driving Lyla back from her latest doctor’s appointment when his phone rang. He saw it was Oliver and immediately answered. “How is she?”

“Scared. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her this scared.”

“She thought she knew Ra’s. Thought he wouldn’t come after her. She’s hiding from people she thought she could trust and who know her very well.” John pointed out. “That’s enough to make anyone scared. Add to that that she’s pregnant and whatever happens is gonna affect the baby’s life too, I don’t blame her.”

“She’s having a girl.”

* * *

 

**Gotham**

“Scarlett?” Bucky suggested.

Felicity winced slightly. “No. Rebecca Scarlett sounds….”

“True. Emily?”

“Maybe?” she responded. “You’d think picking a middle name wouldn’t be so hard.”

“Yeah, I agree with you there. Kate?”

“No.”

“Charlotte? Elizabeth? Natalie? Alexa? Hayley? Danielle?”

“Why don’t we just put in pin in picking out a middle name for now?” She suggested. Choosing a middle name didn’t seem super important right now. “What do you think she’s gonna be like?”

“I hope she’s just like you.”

“Really? ‘Cause I want her to be a little bit like you. You might not see it, but you’ve got a lot of good qualities. Traits I’d want her to have. Plus, a little girl running around with those bright blue eyes of yours would be too adorable to fathom.”

“I just want her to be healthy. Healthy and not have to deal with all the crap we’re dealing with right now.”

 

A contingent of assassins gathered in a hideout right outside of Gotham. The League’s truce with the Dark Knight ended at the city limits, so they needed to move carefully. Sarab had a very strong feeling that Gotham was where Felicity and Bucky were hiding.

“This is where we believe Zahara and Al-Jundi have hidden.” He said, showing photos of Wayne Manor. “The Demon Head requires more evidence than simple theory. We’ve been tasked with obtaining proof.”

They watched the manor for days. Bruce Wayne, his children, and his butler were the only ones they saw enter or leave. Batman’s activities didn’t wane during that time, so everything appeared to be normal.

That was until one day, one of the assassins swore he saw Oliver Queen in the backyard. Wayne and Queen knew each other, but didn’t like each other. There was no reason Oliver would be at Bruce’s house, unless he wasn’t there to see Bruce Wayne.

“Contact the Demon Head. We found them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
> 
> What do all of the middle name suggestions have in common?


	82. Chapter 82

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ra's prepares for a fight. So does Team Felicity.

“Contact the Demon Head. We found them.”

Sarab called Ra’s and told him one of the assassins believed they found Felicity and Bucky. The Demon Head was thrilled by the news.

 

Meanwhile, in the Batcave, an alarm started blaring on one of Bruce’s computers. Felicity happened to be sitting in the same room as the hidden door that led to the secret entrance to the Batcave and went to check it out.  She entered Bruce’s lair to find Bruce, all of his kids, Bucky and Oliver assembled in front of the computer.

“Whatever that alert is for better be important. I was trying to take a nap.” She said unhappily. She’d finally gotten to sleep when the alarm went off.

“You were in the mansion, how’d you even hear it?” Tim asked.

“Winter Soldier hearing, remember?” She said. “What is it?”

“Babs set up facial recognition programs to spot League members. We caught one on the edge of the property, past the front gate, but still technically mansion grounds.” Bruce told her. “We tracked him back to a hideout. He wasn’t alone.”

“How many?”

“Between six and ten.”

“For now, you mean.”

“We can’t-“ Bruce began to argue when suddenly Damian’s phone rang.

“Mother?”

Fighting could be heard on the other end of the line before someone spoke. “Tell your father your grandfather knows. I will do what I can.” Talia told her son before hanging up.

“He knows. How does he know?”

“It was only a matter of time.” Felicity said hopelessly.

“How long-?”

“If his attempts in the past are anything to go by, the League could be here by this time tomorrow.” Bruce said. “Queen, call your team. Jason, New York. Dick, Central City.”

“I’ll call Steve, it’ll save time.” Bucky insisted.

“Call Barry first.” Felicity told Oliver. “He might be able to speed things along.” She then heard the pun and giggled.

* * *

 

**Central City**

Barry was finishing up a new training regimen Caitlin had developed to test his limits when Cisco yelled for him to come to the Cortex. He sped over there and Cisco practically threw a phone at him.

“Hello?”

“Barry. How fast can you get to Gotham?” Oliver asked.

“Gotham, why-?”

“Felicity and her kid are in danger. We don’t have a lot of time. How fast can you get here?” He growled.

“About 20 minutes.” He answered. “What’s-“

“Start running, I’ll explain when you get here.”

* * *

 

**Starling City**

Digg, Roy, Thea and Sara were in between training exercises in the foundry when Digg’s phone rang. He didn’t hear it, and missed the call. Nanoseconds later, Thea, Sara and Roy’s phones rang.

“Ok, this weird.” Roy remarked.

“It’s not weird. It’s an SOS.” Digg said, a bad feeling coming over him. He picked up the closest phone to him, Thea’s. “Oliver?”

“Not Oliver.” Felicity said. “So, I kinda- you guys, and ARGUS, if Lyla wants to be nice, anyone else you can think of, all of you, you kinda need to come to Gotham.”

“They found you?”

“I don’t- we think so.” She answered. “And I’d rather have Team Felicity here before Team Demon Head, okay?”

John tilted the phone away from his mouth and addressed Roy. “Take my phone. Call Lyla. Tell her we need to get to Gotham yesterday.” He brought Thea’s phone back to his ear. “How long do you think-?”

“Batman’s best guess is within the next 24 hours.”

“Ok. Can I talk to Oliver?” He asked. Felicity handed the phone over. “Anything in particular we should bring?”

“Bring everything.”

* * *

 

**New York**

Steve was talking to Natasha about something when a blocked number called him. He showed her the phone and she was about to tell him to ignore the call when a thought crossed her mind.

“Answer it.”

“But I don’t know-“

“It might be Bucky. He’d be calling from a blocked number.” She told him.

“Hello?”

“Stevie, I need you to gather the Avengers. Now.”

“What’s-“

“Now!” Bucky emphasized.

No sooner had Bucky said that then an alarm, so loud it was almost deafening, began to sound. JARVIS had been listening to the call, as he did all calls, and registered the situation as an emergency of the highest priority.

“Captain, Ms. Romanov, report to the penthouse.” JARVIS informed them.

When they got upstairs, the other Avengers, the Maximoffs, Rhodey, Sam and Maria Hill were already waiting.

“J, cut the alarm.” Tony told his program. “What tripped it?”

“Bucky just called me.” Steve said. “He didn’t-“

“They found them.” The mechanic said in realization. “J, call Batman.”

“Hello?” A growly voice said on the other end of the phone.

“Barnes called. Wanna give me a sit rep?”

“There hasn’t been an attack, but we have every reason to believe he’s figured out where they are.”

“We’ll be there in less than an hour.” Tony was never more grateful that Gotham was so close to New York. Batman hung up and he turned to the others. “Grab your gear, grab everything. we’re leaving in five minutes.” 

* * *

 

**Nanda Parbat**

As soon as Ra’s had confirmation, he ordered the League to mobilize. The faster they could get to Gotham, the less likely Felicity and Bucky could slip through his fingers again. Only a handful of assassins, and those in training, were remaining behind. While his men prepared, he strolled down the hallway until he reached a room.

Unlocking the door, he cleared his throat, getting the occupant’s attention.

“I found Zahara. You failed.”

“I haven’t failed yet. She isn’t in your custody and neither is her beloved.” Nyssa said. She’d killed one of the scouts Ra’s sent to New York four days ago and allowed herself to be taken back to Nanda Parbat shortly after. When questioned, she said the scout might’ve overheard something that could lead to Felicity’s location. Talia hadn’t been found yet. “And I doubt you will.”

Annoyed, Ra’s slammed the door behind him and stormed off. He told the guards to keep a close eye on Nyssa until his return. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


End file.
